


Dongryeok : School for the Gifted

by OurJihoonie



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fantasy, Friendship, Inspired by Harry Potter, M/M, Mystery, Past Domestic Violence, short-ish chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:57:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OurJihoonie/pseuds/OurJihoonie
Summary: It is the year 2211. Humanity has explored most of the galaxy and colonized habitable planets. They have moved away from their former home, Earth, and have taken residence on these planets. For some reason scientists can't explain, some humans are born with superhuman powers whilst on these planets. To cater to this new group of people, schools for such children are set up to teach them how to control their powers. Dongryeok : School for the Gifted is one of the more prestigious ones.Follow 9 boys as they enjoy their school life while sinister activity stirs in the background.





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> So this is my first fan fiction for Stray Kids so they may get a little ooc.  
> Hope you enjoy the story~

It is the year 2211. Over the years, humanity has explored and colonized most of the known galaxy and have taken residence in the habitable ones. For a reason scientists cannot explain, some humans were born with powers: Control over the elements, superhuman strength, teleportation etc. Powers that humans had only imagined about back on Earth. Some phantom that there is something in the air that causes these changes, others believe it is what was left from an alien species. 

Whatever the reason for these powers, it soon became clear to humanity that a new branch of education was needed to cater to those with powers. They needed to learn to control their superhuman powers. During the first few years of experimentation and building up the new branch, many accidents occurred due to loss of control on the gifted's part. A flood, entire buildings collapsing, sometimes even causing cities to burn to the ground. 

Although the percentage of powers occurring in humans was quite low, many children were born with their unique powers and schools for them quickly became more and more prestigious. One of the older and more prestigious ones, Dongryeok, was located in the heart of what was labelled as Seoul on the new planet. Soon, most of the gifted children aimed to study at Dongryeok. Along with the usual subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, Arts etc, Dongryeok catered to each group of powers specially, allowing their students to be able to control their powers amazingly. Most of their graduates went on to integrate back into the society, using their powers to speed up any job they took on. 

Dongryeok : School for the Gifted was every gifted child's dream school. Little did they know what went on behind closed doors. Until now, as 9 boys meet in the school and unravel its secrets. 


	2. Chapter 2

Jisung wondered how he had even got into such a prestigious school. I mean, his grades weren't the best, his athletics were below average, heck he didn't even know what his powers actually were. He drowned himself in self-doubt as he fidgeted with his bag.

He stared into the crowd of students all waiting for the train that would bring them to the school. They were all excited and talking animatedly with their friends. Once in the while someone lost control of themselves and accidently set fire to their own hair or teleported to somewhere else, startling their friends a little before they laughed it off.

Jisung smiled wistfully at the sight and took out his acceptance letter. He stared at the address and the name printed on the letter. 'We are pleased to announce that Han Jisung has been accepted into Dongryeok: School for the Gifted.' The letter also gave instructions on where and when they would be fetched to the school as well as a book list for the students. Jisung smiled to himself, reassuring himself that he was indeed accepted into the school of his dreams. He replaced the letter into its place in his bag and started looking through the bag's contents to make sure that he had brought everything he needed.

He was so engrossed in the activity that he didn't notice the figure creeping behind him until it pounced onto him, almost causing him to fall over from the added weight on his back.

He stabilized himself and whipped his head around, coming face to face with his childhood friend, who had a wide grin spread across his face. Jisung rolled his eyes at his friend, who pouted and jumped off Jisung's back. Hyunjin giggled at Jisung's expression and poked his cheeks.

"Have I ever told you that you look like a squirrel?"

Jisung sighed, "You mention it at least twice a day, Hyunjin."

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders with a smile but soon became aware of how Jisung looked worried. "What's the matter? You look a little down."

Jisung looked over at Hyunjin, a little shocked. "It's... It's nothing really, I just kinda doubted that I could actually make it into Dongryeok."

Hyunjin huffed and furrowed his brow. "How many times must I tell you not to doubt yourself? You're amazing and you need to realise that," he chided.

Jisung smiled softly at his friend's words and hit Hyunjin lightly. Hyunjin, seeing that Jisung was back to his normal playful self, smiled again and started chatting up a storm. They were soon talking about a variety of subjects, from what they had for breakfast to what they were most excited to see in their new school.

"I heard that there’s a chocolate fountain in the dining hall!!" Hyunjin went on, his eyes sparkling, "I hope we end up as roommates or at least in the same class."

Jisung nodded and was about to reply when he was interrupted by a loud whistle. The crowd started mummering excitedly as the train pulled into the station. Jisung had turned to watch as the magnificent train pulled to a stop and when he turned back, Hyunjin was nowhere to be found.

Jisung blinked, confused before he felt a tug on his pants. He looked down to see a small dog pulling on his uniform and he grinned.

Picking up the dog, he teased, "Seriously Hyunjin? I thought you had better control over your powers."

Laughing at the dog's grumpy face, he slid Hyunjin into his bag, with Hyunjin's head poking out. He thanked Hyunjin in his mind for not bringing too much luggage as he grabbed all their belongings to bring up the train. He struggled a little dragging all their stuff up and Hyunjin barking at him did not help.

He had just decided to make two trips to get their stuff up when another student came up from behind him and helped him grab some of Hyunjin’s bags.

Jisung was a little surprised and turned to thank the other student. He smiled warmly and shook his head, saying that it wasn’t a big deal.

“Why’re you bringing so much luggage? I’ve seen people overpack but never to this extent.” The other student asked curiously.

Jisung quickly replied, “Half of the luggage is my friend’s one. He got a little too excited and transformed into a dog. He has to wait about 10 minutes before he can attempt to change back so he’s stuck for now.”

He motioned to his bag where Hyunjin had hidden in embarrassment. The other student peered into the bag and nodded in understanding, grinning a little. The three of them boarded the train and put their bags in the overhead compartment.

Jisung invited the other student to sit with them, which he gladly accepted. Having fished Hyunjin out of his bag, he settled opposite of the other student with the small dog on his lap.

“So…” Jisung started awkwardly, “Thanks for helping us, uhm, what’s your name?”

The other student smiled and introduced himself, “My name’s Bang Chan, I can use telekinesis. I’m a senior at Dongryeok. How about you two? I take that you guys are the new batch?”

Jisung nodded fervently before introducing himself and his friend, “My name is Han Jisung, and this is Hwang Hyunjin.”

He pet Hyunjin’s head, receiving a swat in return.

Chan smiled at this and asked, “So what are your powers?” Jisung tilted his head slightly, thinking of how to properly explain his powers.

“Well… I have a way with mechanics and machinery? I can fix stuff in machines just by concentrating really hard. I’m not very sure how to explain it.”

Chan looked impressed by his words and Jisung continued, “and as you can see, Hyunjin here is a shapeshifter. He hasn’t yet gotten full control over his powers, meaning when he’s really emotional he’ll change into random animals and explaining why he can’t attempt to shapeshift until at least 10 minutes after the previous attempt. Really, it’s a good thing, he used to have to wait almost half a day before he could change. There was this once when he suddenly changed into an elephant because he was having a nightmare-“

Jisung was cut off by Hyunjin growling at him.

Chan snickered at the look of terror that crossed Jisung’s face as the small dog cornered him. He cleared his throat and wondered if what he wanted to ask of Jisung was appropriate.

“Jisung, would you mind me asking you of a favour? I know we only just met and all-“

Jisung smiled widely and shook his head, “Not at all hyung, I mean, you’ve also helped us already.”

“Right. I was wondering if you could fix my watch for me? My friend gave it to me a few years back and it stopped working about a month ago. I’ve been wearing it the entire time, but I would like if was working. I don’t really know why it stopped, could be because I crushed it when I was practicing my telekinesis.” Chan stared down at the watch on his arm.

Jisung stared at Chan blankly but accepted immediately, reaching his hand out to touch the watch. Chan watched as the younger boy closed his eyes and concentrated, getting into the mechanics of the watch. Jisung had fixed machinery way more complicated than this before, so making the watch work again was a piece of cake. Chan heard a few clicks as the hands of his watch turned until it stopped at the current time and started ticking again. Chan stared at his watch as it started ticking after a month of immobility.

He looked up to thank Jisung before noticing that the small dog was gone and in its place sat a handsome young boy. Hyunjin had changed back into his human form while Jisung was fixing the watch and Chan hadn’t noticed, so his sudden appearance startled him.

Chan let out an involuntary ‘woah’ as he took in the beautiful face. Jisung giggled at Chan’s reaction and Hyunjin just glared at Jisung, clearly embarrassed.

“Are you woah-ing at the fact that I fixed your watch or at Hyunjin’s face?” Jisung inquired cheerfully.

Chan, a little taken aback by his own reaction, quickly came to his senses and thanked the young mechanic for fixing his watch.

“It’s nothing really! I used to feel tired after small repairs like that but I’ve been practicing, so I feel hardly anything at all from that!” Jisung beamed before nudging Hyunjin, “Why don’t you introduce yourself formally?”

Hyunjin turned away from the window he had been staring intently at and shyly said, “Jisung already introduced me but my name is Hwang Hyunjin, and I’m a shapeshifter. Please forget whatever you saw earlier.”

Chan smiled at the younger and nodded politely, silently fawning over the boy in his heart. He was just too cute!!

The three got along quickly and they were soon chatting like they’d been friends for years. The landscape flew past as they engrossed themselves in their conversations, laughing and talking.

Chan suddenly remembered something and said, “Do you guys have any interest in music? I actually started a music club in school and we are in desperate need of new members. The other students don’t seem very keen about music.”

Hyunjin’s eyes lit up and he asked earnestly, “What kind of music? I don’t really know about making music, but I like dancing!”

Chan smiled at his enthusiasm and thought about what his club really did. After a few moments he replied, “As of now we just make covers and some original rap, but we would love to have someone who dances. Anyone who loves music is welcome to join in my eyes.”

Jisung had been eating while listening to the conversation, but as soon as he heard Chan saying that they did rap, he started talking around his half-eaten chocolate doughnut, “I whoo raeip shumtaimes-“

Hyunjin clammed a hand over Jisung’s mouth, making him pause. “Don’t talk with your mouth full Jisung, it makes you look even more like a squirrel.”

Chan almost choked on his water at that comment. How had he not noticed how much Jisung looked like a squirrel? It was almost uncanny how he did.

Jisung had finished his doughnut at this point and was talking animatedly, “I do some freestyle rap, but I often forget my lyrics right after I think of it. I don’t know if I can compose, but I would love to join your club!! By the way, why do you say you’re in _desperate_ need of members? Just how little people do you have?”

Chan laughed awkwardly at the thought of his club and how pathetic it was. “Well, right now we have three members including me. There’s my friend Kim Woojin, who has a voice of an angel and my junior Seo Changbin, who makes raps and composes with me. I mostly do composing but I also rap and sing.”

Both Jisung and Hyunjin looked at him admiringly and agreed telepathically that they would join the club. “We’ll join.” They said in unison.

Chan looked at them with an unreadable expression, though glad that his glad had two new additions, finding it weird that they said it at the exact same time. They moved on from the topic and continued discussing important matters like good food and how cute Hyojong and Hyuna were together.

Chan spoke briefly of his friend Woojin, who he had mentioned before, and he seemed to go into a sort of daydream as he spoke of his supposedly angel-voiced batchmate. Jisung and Hyunjin both noticed and shared a look, but decided not to bring it up, lest there was a misunderstanding.

Soon after, the train arrived at the school and having gotten their luggage, the two new students bid farewell to Chan and rushed off to marvel the school.

The school was situated a little away from human civilization and had only the train lines and one road leading to a nearby town mainly catering to the students of Dongryeok.

The school itself was humongous and rather grand. It was built like a medieval castle, with towers rising above the main building and a large courtyard in the middle, surrounded by the building.

The courtyard housed a magnificent water fountain with various statues strewn around. There were wooden benches everywhere and lush green bushes and trees planted around, giving the students a nice outdoor place they could enjoy their time in.

The interior seemed even more grand than the outside, if that was even possible.

Jisung and Hyunjin stared wide-eyed as they entered the building. It was furnished very stylishly, with sofas and coffee tables strewn around. There was a huge staircase leading up and hallways on either side.

The older students smiled as the new students stood admiring the school, reminiscing about how they had been that way when they first stepped into the school.

After all the senior students had left to head to their dorms and rest, the new students were welcomed by the kindly head teacher of their year, who introduced himself as Mr Yoon Jeonghan.

“Just call me Mr Yoon. I teach Chemistry and Control over the Minds, but I also do Element Control and Arts if needed. If you need to reach me, just ask for me at the general office, or leave a message through your tablet.”

Before the briefing had started, each student had been given a ‘school tablet’. It was of the latest technology and could be taken out with just a flick of one’s hand. It had contacts of all the school staff and contact inputs for the students to add their friends and communicate through.

It also served as a tool for teachers to send instructions or resources to the students. The tablet also had apps and games to entertain the students when they had free time.

After they had received their tablets. Jisung and Hyunjin had immediately saved each other’s numbers and were just waiting for the briefing and the tour to end so that they could get Chan’s one as well.

Mr Yoon continued on with his briefing, going over the rules and regulations of the school and briefly explaining the class systems.

“For normal classes like Maths, English etc, you will be with your homeroom class, but for more specific classes where you will be split according to your powers, you will be in a different class. Any questions? If not, I will be bringing you guys up to the hall for the principal’s speech and assigning of your homeroom class.”

Mr Yoon looked around before nodding and turning to the staircase, the mass of students following behind. Hyunjin bounded up the stairs in excitement and would have bumped into another student if Jisung had not caught him.

“Calm down, Hyunjin. We don’t want a repeat of earlier right?” Even as the words came out of his mouth, Jisung could not help but buzz with excitement. They were finally at the school of their dreams!

At the hall, which was as grand as everything else in the school, they were warmly welcomed by the principal, Kim Jinhwa.After giving his speech, he smiled warmly and wished them a great school year.

Jisung, who hated speeches with a burning passion only snapped out of his daydream when Hyunjin nudged his side and started clapping, signalling the end of the principal’s address.

Mr Yoon then instructed the students to check their tablets for their homeroom classes and their roommates.

Jisung quickly pulled out his tablet and opened the notification. He excitedly read that he had been placed into Class 1-3 with his homeroom teacher being Mr Jeon Wonwoo and that his dorm room was room 25.

He looked over at his friend and Hyunjin started reading off his tablet. “You have been placed in Class 1-1 and your homeroom teacher is Mr Lee Seokmin. Your dorm room is room 25.”

Hyunjin looked up to see Jisung looking somewhat happy. “We don’t have the same homeroom but we’re roommates!!” Jisung grinned and enveloped Hyunjin in a bear hug.

Hyunjin giggled and let himself be hugged before pushing Jisung slightly, saying, “Come on, let’s go meet our roommate.”

Dorms were split with 3 people per room, with the girl’s dorm and the boy’s dorm being separate. Mr Yoon guided the students to their dorms and Jisung and Hyunjin quickly found their way to room 25, wondering what their roommate was like.

They arrived to the dorm before their roommate and each claimed a bed. They explored the room which was furnished with 3 single beds and study tables for the students.

There was a walk-in wardrobe to fit the clothes of all 3 of them and a bathroom attached. All in all it was a pretty nice room.

They were just exploring the walk-in closet when someone knocked on the door before peering into the room.

Jisung and Hyunjin welcomed him in and apologized, making sure that he was fine with taking the last remaining bed. He smiled warmly, saying that it wasn’t a problem. He introduced himself as Yoon Sanha, an air bender, as he liked to call his ability.

Jisung and Hyunjin introduced themselves as well and the three of them set off back to Mr Yoon to get to their homerooms and to embark on the tour of the school.

It was a pretty hectic day, but Jisung liked it all the same. As he talked to his new friend, he believed sincerely that his school life here would never be boring and would be an amazing experience. Little did he know that what was in store for him and his friends were sure, not boring, but not that great of an experience.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the hits and kudos!  
> Hope you enjoy the story~

Hyunjin smiled as he waved at his two friends, who were discussing about their life stories enthusiastically.

 

He had bid farewell to them temporarily as he entered his classroom, the two walking further to the third one. Hyunjin was a little worried as to whether he would get along with the others and he looked around nervously at his classmates. He took a seat in the middle of the classroom and started daydreaming. He was just thinking about what he wanted to try from the buffet at dinner when someone tapped his shoulders. 

 

He looked up to see a boy with intense eyes staring at him. Hyunjin stared at him for a while, a little intimidated. He had long jet black hair that almost covered his eyes, and a burst of freckles over his nose. He had a few piercings on his years and his uniform was a little ruffled. 

 

“Can I sit here?” he said with a slight accent. Hyunjin was a little shocked at the boy’s low voice. That kinda made him even scarier.

 

Hyunjin nodded timidly before staring at his hands. The other boy saw how tense Hyunjin was and smiled warmly. 

 

“My name’s Felix, what about you?” Hyunjin looked up at the other to see him smiling, which made Hyunjin relax a little.

 

“I’m Hyunjin,” Hyunjin attempted a smile back.

 

“Are you scared of me?” Felix giggled at the look of bewilderment on Hyunjin’s face. 

 

“I- I uh…, no?” Hyunjin sputtered, even more embarrassed as Felix laughed. Felix grinned at the other and Hyunjin smiled awkwardly. 

 

“How about we get to know each other better?” seeing that the other boy agreed, Felix continued, “Well, to get started, my power is that of healing. I’m from Australia, so my Korean isn’t the best but I try my best. I like dancing and gaming and I have a black belt in Taekwondo.”

 

Hyunjin was glad that he had something in common with his partner (though the black belt in Taekwondo made him nervous) and he smiled, “My power is shapeshifting. I haven’t really gotten full control over it so don’t be surprised if I suddenly change. I like dancing, reading and doing sports. I also have a dog called Kkami.”

 

“Ooh- what kind of dance do you like?” Felix leaned closer, his eyes sparkling. 

 

Hyunjin grinned and was about to start rattling off when the homeroom teacher walked in, causing the classroom to quieten down. Hyunjin was a little disappointed but reassured himself that he could continue his conversation with Felix another time.

 

Their homeroom teacher, Mr Lee Seokmin, was a cheerful young man who dressed fairly casually. He had on a bright smile that seemed to bring up the mood in the classroom, making all the students to smile back at him. 

 

“Hello guys! I’m Mr Lee Seokmin and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the year. I teach PE, Chemistry and Focus of the Mind. Nice to meet you guys! Well then, shall we start with introductions? When it’s your turn, just say your name and your power and if you want, say something about yourself.” He smiled warmly and gestured for a girl in the front row to start. 

 

She stood up and said, “My name is Yeh Shuhua, nice to meet you. My power is Charm.” 

 

Hyunjin had heard of that power before. The gifted could convince anyone to do something just by talking them into it. It was quite a rare ability and he looked at her. She was pretty, which made her ability even more efficient. 

 

Hyunjin wasn’t very good at remembering names and with the introductions going at such a rapid speed, he figured he would just get closer to his classmates and learn their names later.

 

The introductions went quickly, Chanhee who could control electricity, Chaeyeon who could speak to animals, Heejin who could control time…

 

Soon, it was Hyunjin’s turn and he stood up, a little self-conscious. “My name is Hwang Hyunjin and I’m a shapeshifter. I like to dance and I have a dog called Kkami.” 

 

He sat down quickly and he heard a little giggle from behind him. Did he say something funny?

 

After Felix had introduced himself, Hyunjin turned to look at who had been giggling and soon found out why she had laughed. 

 

“My name is Kim Hyunjin, nice to meet you! I can teleport.” She said with a smile.

 

“Wow, two Hyunjins? How do you guys want to be called?” Mr Lee looked at them both. 

 

“What about with our surnames? I can be KiHyunjin and he can be HwaHyunjin?” Hyunjin tilted her head towards the other Hyunjin and he agreed, having nothing to contribute.

 

“Ok then~ so it’s Kihyun and Hwahyun for you two.” Mr Lee smiled and nodded for the girl beside Kim Hyunjin to continue with introductions.

 

One other student had a rather unusual ability. 

 

He was a cute boy who looked rather like a fennec fox. When it was his turn, he had stood up a little uncertainty.

 

“Hello everyone, my name is Yang Jeongin. I’m 17 this year and my ability is blood manipulation.” He quietened down at the last line and everyone looked wide-eyed at the boy. 

 

Not only had he skipped a grade, he also had a rather scary and weird ability. What did he mean by blood manipulation? Was he referring to his own blood or other’s one?

 

Jeongin looked rather embarrassed at all the attention and sat down quickly. 

 

After the class of about 20 introduced themselves, Mr Lee nodded and started explaining how lessons would be taught in greater detail. After the briefing, which Hyunjin had been looking forward to. 

 

Mr Lee brought them through the lobby, the hall, the dining hall, the library, the staff offices, the general office, the practice rooms for practicing their powers, the club rooms and was going past the principal’s office when Hyunjin put up his hand. He had felt the need to use the toilet for a while but had wanted to wait till the tour was over to go to the toilet.

 

Mr Lee gave him 10 minutes while the others looked around the library that was around the corner. After getting directions to the toilet, Hyunjin got himself lost. 

 

He cursed his horrible sense of direction under his breath, looking around at the hallways that seemed to be endless. He started retracing his steps back through a sitting room he had passed when he heard a voice floating over.

 

Hyunjin was beyond relieved and planned on asking the other person for directions. The voice seemed to be talking on the phone and as it got closer, Hyunjin realised it was the same voice he heard in the morning when the principal was giving his speech. 

 

Walking toward where he was hearing the voice, Hyunjin soon saw the principal talking on a phone. He noticed Hyunjin walking over and he quickly cut off the call.

 

Looking a little irritated, he turned to the younger boy, “Can I help you? What are you doing in my sitting room?” 

 

Hyunjin, a little taken aback by his cold tone, started stuttering, “I-I was looking for the toilet but I got lost. I, I was trying to get back to where I came from, and I thought that I had come through here…”

 

The principal, seeing that Hyunjin was really just lost, softened a little and pointed him in the direction of the toilet. 

 

“By the way, you didn’t happen to hear what I was talking about on the phone earlier right?” Hyunjin turned back, confused. 

 

He shook his head and saw the relief in the older man’s eyes. “Good good, I was discussing some exam questions with your year head and I wouldn’t want the questions to come out.” He smiled and wished Hyunjin a good day.

 

Hyunjin went off a little confused, was exam questions really all he had been discussing with whoever was on the phone? They had just started the year and they were already planning the midterms? Hyunjin was just a little suspicious and thought about it as he eventually found the toilet and relieved himself.

 

Hyunjin finally found his way back to the meeting point where Mr Lee was starting to worry. Hyunjin admitted that he had gotten lost which made Felix laugh. Mr Lee just smiled in relief and continued on with the tour. 

 

Although Hyunjin had been really excited for the tour, after his run-in with the principal, Hyunjin was too preoccupied with his thoughts to follow.

 

Felix noticed and asked, a little concerned, “Are you all right? I thought you were super hyped for this? You seem a little out of it.”

 

Hyunjin just smiled, brushing it off as him being a little tired. Felix was obviously not satisfied with his answer but decided not to prod further. 

 

The tour ended with Mr Lee sending them off to their dorms to rest before their official welcoming at dinner that night. Hyunjin contemplated whether or not to tell Jisung what had happened. 

 

Opening the door to his dorm room, he noticed Sanha sprawled on one of the beds using his tablet. He looked up when the door opened and he smiled at Hyunjin cutely.

 

“Hey, where’s Jisung?” Hyunjin looked around the dorm room, not seeing the hyperactive squirrel.

 

“Hmm? He said that he wanted to go explore some more so he left.” Sanha’s attention returned to the video he was watching on his tablet. “Why don’t you message him?” 

 

Oh yeah. He had that. 

 

Hyunjin took out his tablet and messaged Jisung, asking where he was. Jisung replied not long after and Hyunjin bid farewell to his roommate, who just hummed in response. Jisung said that he was at the courtyard and said that he would wait there for his friend.

 

Seeing that the courtyard was in the middle of the ground floor, Hyunjin figured he could get there without too much trouble. He prayed that he could get there properly and set off in the direction where he thought the courtyard was. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

 

He instead ended up walking down a corridor with doors on either side. He decided to try his luck and opened one of the doors, hoping to at least ask someone for directions. 

 

He chose a door where he heard sounds playing and knocked before sticking his head in. A senior had been sitting with his back to the door with headphones on. He turned his head when the door opened and looked questioningly at the junior.

 

Hyunjin was so in awe of the room in which he just stepped into that he forgot what he had came for in the first place. The room was packed full of mixing equipment, microphones, various music instruments and pieces of paper littered everywhere. The senior was sitting in front of a huge computer screen which had a mixing software on.

 

Hyunjin only snapped out of his bubble when his senior cleared his throat and looked at him with a questioning face. 

 

“Oh right! Uhm I was wondering if you could give me directions to the courtyard? I’m a little lost.” Hyunjin played with the hem of his shirt as he looked at his senior.

 

He had turned fully to face Hyunjin, his headphones around his neck. He shrugged to himself and stood up before he started stretching, his bones popping.

 

Hyunjin stared at his senior for a while. He was a little shorter than Hyunjin but still had a cool vibe to him. His chin was really sharp Hyunjin noticed his shaved brow.

 

“I’ve been sitting there too long anyway, the courtyard right?” Hyunjin nodded as he watched his senior take off his headphones and set them down on a table littered with scrunched up papers and pens. 

 

The senior led the way and Hyunjin followed meekly, staring at the back of his senior.

 

“So, you’re a the new batch huh?” Hyunjin lifted his gaze from the other’s back and nodded before thinking of introducing himself. 

 

“My name’s Hwang Hyunjin and I’m in Class 1-1. Thanks for showing me the way.” The senior smiled and introduced himself, “I’m Seo Changbin, Class 2-4. No problem no problem.”

 

Seo Changbin? Hyunjin swore he heard that name somewhere before… He racked his brain for answers. He finally realised where he had last heard the name and it clicked in his mind.

 

“Oh! You’re in Bang Chan’s club?” Changbin looked a little surprised and nodded. 

 

“It’s a long story, but Chan helped my friend and I out and we ended up talking on the train ride here. I remember he mentioned his club and told us about it.” Hyunjin explained.

 

Changbin hummed in understanding and looked at Hyunjin, “So are you interested in joining?”

 

“Yup! Both me and my friend decided to. I’m not sure how to though…” Hyunjin smiled

 

“You’re going to have to wait another week before you can start joining clubs. They have to finalise everything before you guys can start joining in on club activities.” Changbin explained.

 

“What’s there to finalise?” Hyunjin thought that all the class and roommate processes had gone pretty smoothly.

 

Changbin looked at Hyunjin curiously, “They haven’t told you guys about the placement test yet?” Seeing Hyunjin’s confused expression, Changbin continued, “They’ll announce it soon enough, but for them to split the students to the power classes, you guys have to go through a test where you show your control over your power. The people who have less control will go to a more beginner class while the ones who have better control will go to more advanced classes. Sometimes a junior may even join a senior class. For example, there have been cases of year 1 students joining the year 2s.”

 

Hyunjin nodded thoughtfully, wondering where he would get placed. Dongryeok offered 4 different power control classes: Control of the Mind, Elemental Control, Focus of the Mind and Object Manipulation.

 

Hyunjin had read up on that topic before and while it was quite confusing at first, he understood the differences after reading up on it. Elemental Control was for the ones with control over natural things like air, water, ice, fire etc. Object Manipulation was for powers like Jisung’s ones. Control of the Mind and Focus of the Mind was a little more confusing. 

 

From what he understood, Control of the Mind was more for manipulating other’s minds, for powers like mind control, telepathy and the like. Focus of the Mind was for learning how to concentrate better, for powers like his own and teleportation. 

 

While he had been thinking over the subject, the two had reached the courtyard. Hyunjin snapped out of his thoughts and thanked Changbin again. The two exchanged numbers on their tablets before Changbin turned to go back to the clubroom.

 

Hyunjin smiled to himself, glad that he was able to make friends with others in the school. He quickly went into the courtyard and found Jisung lying on the ground under one of the big trees. He was humming a tune to himself as he watched birds fly overhead.

 

He looked up when he heard Hyunjin approaching and sat up, glaring playfully at Hyunjin.

 

“Why’d you take so long to get here? I waited for like 20 minutes. Do you know how bored I was?” Jisung whined at Hyunjin.

 

“Geez, I’m sorry, I just got a little lost.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes at his friend before grinning and telling the other about meeting Changbin.

 

Jisung smiled as Hyunjin recounted his encounter with the older animatedly. They started talking about how their day had been in their respective classes, with Hyunjin speaking of the other Hyunjin in his class.

 

They laughed rather loudly at some joked the other made, causing the others there to look at them curiously. 

 

They quietened down a little and continued talking. Hyunjin remembered how he had wanted to tell Jisung about his little episode with the principal and started, “Hey Jisung, can I ask your opinion on something?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Just as he was about to tell him the story, an announcement rang out.

 

_ “All students, please head to the dining hall. Dinner will start in 10 minutes.” _

 

The other students in the courtyard had started packing up their things and Hyunjin and Jisung did the same, getting up from the dirt and trying to dust themselves off. 

 

They decided to follow the other students to the dining hall just in case they got lost.

 

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Jisung looked at Hyunjin curiously.

 

“I’ll tell you later,” Hyunjin stretched and the two followed the other students into the main building.

 

As they were walking, Mr Yoon happened to be walking beside them and they greeted him. He smiled warmly and asked about their day.

 

Hyunjin remembered how the principal had said he was calling his year head, and said jokingly, “Good thing I didn’t happen to hear you discussing exam questions with the principal huh? I almost heard something too.”

 

Mr Yoon looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about, I didn’t call anyone today, and I certainly didn’t talk about exam questions.”

 

Hyunjin quickly made up an excuse and Mr Yoon shrugged it off with a smile.

 

Mr Yoon’s answer had solidified Hyunjin’s suspicions of the principal. Who had he been calling and what had they been talking about? Why was the principal afraid that Hyunjin had overheard? Hyunjin frowned as he thought it over. Whatever it was, it could not be good...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the hits and kudos!  
> I hope you guys will like the story~  
> Do leave a comment if you would like to give suggestions!

Jisung looked over at Hyunjin when the shapeshifter caught up with him, “What did you talk about with Mr Yoon?”

 

Hyunjin debated whether or not to tell Jisung the whole story then and there but decided against it, muttering, “I’ll tell you later.”

 

Jisung was a little confused but shrugged it off. The two walked in a somewhat awkward silence until they spotted Chan and rushed up to him.

 

“Oh! Hey you two,” Chan smiled warmly at the youngsters, “This is Kim Woojin, Woojin this is Jisung and Hyunjin.”

 

Gesturing at the boy walking alongside him, he introduced everyone. Woojin smiled at his juniors and nodded politely.

 

“So how was your first day?” Chan laughed as the two started talking at the same time, sharing their time at the school.

 

By the time Hyunjin finished his first story, they had already reached the dining hall and had to part ways. Jisung smiled as he watched his seniors make their way to the 4th year table. The 1st year students were placed at the table in the middle of the hall, which already had piles of food lying in wait for the hungry students.

 

Jisung took a seat next to Hyunjin and Sanha, eyeing the food hungrily. Before they could start eating, the principal made a welcoming speech for the whole school. As the principal was talking, Jisung noticed that Hyunjin was eyeing the older man weirdly. Jisung frowned slightly, wondering what had happened.

 

Before he could ask Hyunjin, the hall burst into a round of applause, the seniors cheering to welcome their new juniors.

 

Jisung shrunk a little in his seat, a little embarrassed as their seniors stared at their table. After the principal concluded his speech, he invited everyone to start eating and everyone immediately dug into the food in front of them.

 

Jisung stared at the variety of food before him. There was everything from fried rice to pizza to chocolate cake, all looking exceptionally good. Jisung grabbed a large serving of carbonara and started digging in, having decided to have cheesecake for desert.

 

The hall was lively as the students chatted whilst having their meals, laughing and joking.

 

Jisung looked over at Hyunjin and started laughing hysterically. Hyunjin had somehow gotten his mashed potatoes all over his hands and face and was trying to snatch the tissue box Sanha was holding hostage.

 

Hyunjin smeared mashed potatoes on Sanha’s face as well, causing the other boy to drop the tissue box. Triumphant, Hyunjin grabbed a bunch of tissue and started cleaning up the mashed potatoes.

 

After he was done, he hit Jisung in an attempt to get him to stop laughing, clearly embarrassed. Dinner passed without any other disturbances and the boys returned to their dorm full and happy.

 

They all took their baths and got comfortable in their beds. Jisung had been feeling quite drowsy since they had finished dinner, and as soon as he lay down on his bed, he could feel his consciousness slipping.

 

“Hey Jisung,” Jisung stirred a little and turned over to look at Hyunjin.

 

Hyunjin made sure that Sanha was asleep before continuing, “I need to tell you something.”

 

Jisung sighed and dragged himself over to Hyunjin’s bed and lying in it.

 

“So, I told you about how I got lost when I was looking for a toilet right?” Jisung nodded, “When I was finding my way, I heard the principal on the phone with someone. They were speaking really quietly so I couldn’t hear what they said, but I figured I could ask him for directions. And when I walked up to the principal, he suddenly cut off the phone call and looked at me really scarily. He directed me to the toilet but before I went, he asked if I hadn’t heard anything he said. When I said I didn’t, he brushed it off by saying that he had been discussing test questions with Mr Yoon, _but he wasn’t_.”

 

Jisung looked a little confused at all this and looked at Hyunjin, “So, what are you trying to say?”

 

Hyunjin sighed and looked Jisung in the eye, “The thing is, I did overhear a few words, I just didn’t want him to know that. I distinctly remember him saying ‘experiment on them’. What’s that supposed to mean? Who is experimenting on?”

 

Jisung gave a little yawn and eyed the shapeshifter warily, “I think your imagination is running too wild Hyunjin, besides, he may have been talking about maybe a science practical or something like that.”

 

Hyunjin ran his hand through his hair, “I don’t know, I can’t shake off this bad feeling I have-”

 

“How about we talk about this another time? I’m really tired today.” Jisung yawned again before putting his head on Hyunjin’s pillow.

 

Hyunjin just sighed and settled in next to his friend, realizing how tired he actually was.

 

He barely muttered a ‘good night’ before sleep washed over him.

 

Suffice to say, Sanha was not pleased when he woke up the next morning and found the two sleeping together.

 

The next week passed without much excitement, all the first years took the placement test smoothly and only Jeongin seemed to have some problem with his powers. Their power classes were announced via an email that was sent to them and Jisung was surprised to know that his skill level was quite high.

 

He was placed in the first class for Object Manipulation and was glad to see that he recognised a few faces.

 

The first lesson wasn’t much, just introductions and a briefing as to what was to be expected in terms of their lessons.

 

After their lessons had ended, Jisung met up with Hyunjin and they headed over to the club rooms. The two had filled up the form to join Chan’s club as soon as they were allowed to and were immediately accepted.

 

As compared to other bigger clubs such as the school band or badminton, the music production club had a almost pathetic club room, with the already small room made to feel even more so with all the clutter.

 

To facilitate the two new members of the club, Chan had tried to declutter the space a little, throwing away all the strewn paper and packing all the instruments into a corner.

 

“We’re here- woaaah…” Jisung trailed off as he stepped into the room, amazed at all the big mixing and producing equipment. He had seen all those on TV before, but never in person. Jisung and Hyunjin were given a miniature tour of the room to learn about what everything did before the 5 members of the club settled down in the centre of the room.

 

Chan formally introduced all the members again and once everyone had gotten acquainted, they started their club activities.

 

Which apparently consisted of staring in awe at the senior members of the club. Jisung and Hyunjin were quite good at that.

 

Chan was producing a new track while Changbin and Woojin wrote lyrics with the help of the two new members.

 

Jisung and Hyunjin were soon laughing and joking with their seniors, having gotten comfortable quickly. Woojin was mostly quiet, just smiling warmly at his juniors.

 

Chan finally got out of his chair long after the other members finished writing and were just messing around.

 

“Oh, are y’all done?” Chan smiled tiredly, “I just finished the track, want to hear?”

 

Hyunjin and Jisung perked up at this and eagerly nodded, wondering what kind of music Chan produced.

 

Chan stretched a little before unplugging his headphones from the computer and hitting the play button.

 

The music washed over all of them and they just listened silently to the uplifting beat. Soon, the song was over and Chan moved to stop the recording. Jisung broke into a grin, “Hyung, that was amazing!!”

 

Chan seemed to relax as everyone nodded in agreement and praised Chan on his music.

 

When everyone settled into a somewhat awkward silence, Hyunjin suddenly pipped up, “Is it ok that I invited my friend? He seemed interested…”

 

Hyunjin looked at Chan for approval and was met with a giant grin on the older’s face.

 

“Of course it’s fine! We _are_ in need of more members after all.”

 

Hyunjin sighed in relief and nodded.

 

When the bell rang for dinner, the 5 of them headed toward the dining hall together, chatting like they were old friends. They parted at the entrance of the hall, splitting into their batches.

 

It was like any other day, the students sharing about their day as they wolfed down as much food as they could.

 

Soon after, Jisung sat in his chair in the dorm room, attempting to do his homework while Sanha sang loudly on his bed.

 

Jisung stared at the math questions for a while more before sighing and giving up, deciding to ask Hyunjin for help once he was done with his bath.

 

He pulled out another piece of homework, this time for his power. He placed the small piece of machinery on the table and put his tablet next to it, opening it to the clock app.

 

He was supposed to test whether he could unlock the lock on the small machine in under 5 minutes as homework.

 

Setting the timer, he took a deep breath before closing his eyes, focusing on the gears and pistons in the device. He let out a breath as he felt the gears turning under his hand, manipulating the various parts as he tried to find the way to unlock the device.

 

He felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek as the parts clicked and turned, only stopping when he heard the definite click of the lock being disabled.

 

Opening his eyes, he stopped the timer and checked the time, which read 3:46. Heaving a sigh of relief, he sat back as a little exhaustion trickled in. Although the machine had been small, it was unnecessarily complicated and he had to focus a little more than he usually did.

 

He stretched and rose from his seat, shoving his homework back into his bag. Seeing as Hyunjin still wasn’t done with his bath, Jisung decided to relax a little before going back to his homework.

 

Sanha had finished his song and was starting with another one as a small ball of wind played over his fingers.

 

Jisung watched as the air bender manipulated the air into various almost invisible shapes while still singing his heart out.

 

Jisung continued staring at the air as Sanha lowered his volume, this time singing in a lower and softer voice. The slight breeze and soft lullaby Sanha seemed to be singing almost put Jisung to sleep, but thinking about the wrath of his Math teacher immediately snapped him awake again.

 

Hyunjin finally appeared out of the shower with a towel around his hair and Jisung leaped out of his bed, startling the shapeshifter slightly. Luckily for the both of them, Hyunjin managed to control himself, unlike previous times when he turned into a monkey and a squirrel.

 

Hyunjin sighed when he saw Jisung giving him puppy eyes.

 

“What do you need help with now?” Hyunjin settled into his chair and looked at Jisung’s homework.

 

After explaining the formula about 20 times, Jisung finally got it and started on the question. Looking over, Hyunjin saw that Sanha had fallen asleep and grinned.

 

He got up and yanked the blanket from under the taller boy before laying it above him, making sure he didn’t feel cold during the night.

 

Soon enough, Jisung finished up his homework with a few blanks here and there and decided to call it a day, jumping under his covers and humming to himself.

 

He muttered an almost inaudible ‘good night’ just as he was about to fall asleep, causing Hyunjin to walk over to him and ruffle his hair while smiling adoringly.

 

Jisung drifted off into a dream about him being surrounded by warm fluffy dogs. Just as he was playing happily with the dogs, he heard someone shout from a distance.

 

“-sung! Jisung! Wake up!” hearing the frantic voice of his friend, he snapped awake to see Hyunjin shaking him rather aggressively.

 

“Mm… what is it? What time is it even?” Jisung asked groggily, not understanding why Hyunjin looked so scared.

 

“It’s 3.15am, but that’s not important.” Hyunjin looked on the verge of tears and Jisung sat up, worried about his friend.

 

“What happened? Did you have a nightmare?” Jisung asked, confused.

 

“No, it’s not that. Sanha, sanha-” Hyunjin gulped.

 

“What about Sanha?” Jisung turned to look at the bed on his left before realising why Hyunjin was so frantic.

 

“Sanha’s missing.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a great day today~  
> Thank you guys as always for hits and kudos, and I hope you enjoy the story!

Hyunjin tried to control the overwhelming anxiety that swallowed him as Jisung tried to make sense of his surroundings.

 

“What even-” Jisung stared at the messy blankets on Sanha's bed, slowly comprehending what was going on.

 

Hyunjin was near bursting with nervous energy, and it took everything he had to control his power. He didn't really want to turn into a dog while they figured something out. They _were_ going to figure it out right? Hyunjin started fretting again, imagining all the worst case scenarios.

 

Jisung had gotten to his senses by this time and seeing that his friend was panicking, he frowned and turned to face him.

 

“Hey, look at me.” Hyunjin’s head snapped up and he looked at his friend, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

 

Jisung had grabbed Hyunjin’s hand and was rubbing reassuring circles into it while comforting him.

 

“We’re going to find out what happened, ok? He’s _not_ gone so don’t start panicking. Besides, we’re in school right now, what’s the worst that can happen? I don’t know where he went, but he will come back, so calm down a little.” Jisung looked straight into Hyunjin’s eyes with a pleading look.

 

Hyunjin nodded a little and tried to relax, letting his tense muscles relax and breathing deeply to calm his racing heart. Jisung, seeing that his friend was calming down, smiled a little before turning back to look at Sanha’s bed, thinking furiously about what could have happened to the taller boy. Hyunjin stared at his friend, their hands still clasped together.

 

“How about you tell me how you found out about his disappearance?” Hyunjin snapped out of his daydream and looked up to realise his friend was staring at him.

 

“Well… I kinda had a nightmare, so I woke up around 3am. I was scared so I laid there for a while just trying to calm down. I may or may not have turned into porcupine and I got up after a while since I couldn’t fall back asleep, wanting to crash with you. I turned and saw that Sanha’s bed was empty. It’s dark so I just thought it was a play of the light but I walked over to his bed to make sure and that was when I realised that he was really gone. Then I woke you up.” Jisung listened attentively, nodding a few times during Hyunjin’s story.

 

“Where could he be…?” Jisung thought out loud, his gaze wandering toward Sanha’s bed again. Hyunjin too tried to brainstorm but his mind was still sleepy and he could only just grasp the situation. Just as Hyunjin opened his mouth to suggest something, they heard footsteps and voices advancing along the hallway outside. They looked at each other with wide eyes before Hyunjin dived back onto his bed and scrambled under his covers. Jisung did the same and they pretended to sleep, their senses on high alert.

 

Not long after, the door opened and two men entered, laughing silently at something the other had said.

 

“Hey, supposedly these two are awake, what would you do?” One of the men whispered jokingly.

 

Hyunjin’s breath hitched but he managed to level out his breathing before the men realised something was wrong.

 

The two men moved across the room to Sanha’s bed and set something down, the other man saying rather gruffly, “That’s impossible Jeff, they were knocked out with a dose of sleeping gas beforehand. Besides, the boss is serious about this experiment thing not getting to the students. We would probably be sacked if one of the students were to be awake during the whole process.”

 

“I _know_ that Brian, no need to recite the rules for me again, boss already drilled it deep into my brain. I was asking what you would do rhetorically-” The two men left the room and closed the door softly, their voices getting softer as they walked down the hallway.

 

Hyunjin waited in the tense silence for what seemed like forever, listening for any more noise. Sure that the two men had left and were not coming back, Hyunjin cautiously lifted his head and looked around the dark room. He silently slipped off his bed and crossed the two steps to Jisung’s bed, holding his breath the whole time. Jisung turned when he felt the presence behind him, looking Hyunjin in the eye before shuffling his blankets and sitting up.

 

The two of them looked over at Sanha’s bed and there he was. Sanha lay on his blankets, sleeping peacefully, the occasional snort coming out from his open mouth. Hyunjin and Jisung slowly approached the bed and looked at each other. Jisung let out a breath and tucked Sanha under the blankets before turning back to Hyunjin and ushering him back to Jisung’s bed.

 

“Let’s not wake him up now, we’ll ask him about it in the morning. I doubt that he remembers anything anyhow, it seems that he was drugged.” Jisung whispered.

 

“By what they said, _we_ were also drugged, weren’t we?” Hyunjin breathed out heavily.

 

“Right. We wouldn’t have found out if you hadn’t had a nightmare. They mentioned ‘experiment’ though, what does that mean?” Jisung wondered.

 

“Does that mean that someone in the school is doing experiments on the students?” Hyunjin felt a sense of dread pool in his gut and he shivered involuntarily.

 

Jisung sighed, his brain overloading with all the information that was suddenly presented to him.

 

Hyunjin thought about it a little and something clicked in his head.

 

“Does this mean… didn’t I mention before that I overheard the principal saying ‘experimenting on them’? Doesn't this mean…” Hyunjin trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

 

Jisung looked overwhelmed, not knowing what to think of what his friend was suggesting. Seeing that Jisung was stressed, Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him and said, “I think we should call it a night, we still have school tomorrow. Why don’t we think about it tomorrow?” Jisung melted into Hyunjin’s embrace and nodded, sighing.

 

After a while, Hyunjin let go of his friend and climbed back onto his bed, bidding Jisung good night.

 

Jisung seemed to fall asleep immediately, leaving Hyunjin the only one still awake in the room. Although his body was exhausted, his mind didn’t allow Hyunjin to go to sleep, the remainders of the nightmare he had seen still lingering in his mind. It didn’t help that the horrors of the real world were still on his mind either.

 

Hyunjin sighed and turned over to face Jisung’s bed. He stared at Jisung’s peaceful face as he slept, quiet snores emitting from his form every so often. Hyunjin closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come if he stayed still for long enough.

 

Hyunjin eventually fell asleep before being woken up by his alarm what seemed like 10 minutes later. He yawned and stretched, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. The door to the bathroom opened and Hyunjin looked up to see Sanha coming out of the bathroom, looking as well-slept and fresh as every.

 

“Oh, you’re awake! Good morning~” Sanha grinned at Hyunjin. Hyunjin looked at Sanha, a little dazed and Sanha tilted his head, “Are you ok? You look really tired.”

 

Hyunjin nodded absently, trying to process what happened the night before. Sanha frowned a little but decided not to pry and went on with his routine, changing into his school uniform and stuffing all his homework into his bag.

 

Hyunjin looked over to Jisung’s bed and found him still snoring away. Since Jisung could get ready the quickest, Hyunjin let him sleep, dragging himself off the bed and into the bathroom, grabbing his uniform on the way.

 

Splashing water on his face, Hyunjin looked at himself in the mirror. He _did_ look tired, in fact he thought he looked like the dead. He stared at the dark circles under his eyes and the haggard look on his face, unbelieving that his face could change in such a short time. Sighing, he scrubbed his face again before washing up and changing into his uniform.

 

Exiting the bathroom, he saw Sanha rushing some homework and Jisung still tangled up in his blankets. Hyunjin wanted to question Sanha as soon as he could, but he didn’t really feel up to challenge that this early in the morning, so he decided to tackle the slightly easier task of waking Jisung up.

 

Hyunjin contemplated on how he should wake him up and decided to just wake him up by screaming at him. He groaned as he hauled himself onto Jisung’s back, causing the boy to grunt and try to turn over.

 

Taking a deep breath, he leaned in close to Jisung’s ear before shouting, “WAKE UP!”

 

Sanha startled, turning to look at the two before sighing and turning back to complete his homework. Jisung also startled, hitting his head against Hyunjin’s one, making Hyunjin fall back. They both groaned, causing Sanha to giggle a little. Jisung sighed and got up, elbowing Hyunjin in the side on the way.

 

Jisung quickly got ready and the three of them set off to the dining hall for breakfast after Sanha had reluctantly finished his homework. As they walked down the hallway filled with students chattering, Hyunjin started hinting to Sanha about the night before.

 

“So… how was your sleep? I was woken up by some weird noise during the night, did you guys happen to hear it?” Hyunjin asked casually.

 

“Hmm? I didn’t hear anything. I slept quite well actually. Ooh! I dreamt of something amazing last night-” Sanha went on about his dream happily.

 

Hyunjin and Jisung shared a look. So Sanha hadn’t noticed anything last night, he most possibly was asleep the whole time.

 

They went through breakfast without any other mention of the night before. Hyunjin sighed and mulled over his thoughts on his way to his classroom. He sat down absently, nodding a greeting toward Felix.

 

“Hey, so I was thinking about the club, and I sent the club application in. I was accepted rather quickly.” Felix laughed before continuing, “Could you lead me to the club room later?”

 

Hyunjin nodded tiredly and Felix looked closely at Hyunjin’s face. “Hey, are you ok? You look a little tired.”

 

Hyunjin smiled weakly and just said, “I couldn’t really sleep well last night.”

 

Felix smiled softly and placed his hand on Hyunjin. Hyunjin felt the tiredness seep out of him and he looked at Felix, surprised.

 

Felix smiled at the look on Hyunjin’s face, saying, “Bet you didn’t know I could do that. I actually didn’t know either, my power teacher opened it up to me. Apparently I can not only heal mortal wounds, but also mental ones.”

 

Hyunjin smiled gratefully at the healer, thanking him just as the first period bell rang. All the students scrambled back to their seats as the teacher walked in. Hyunjin pulled out his books before preparing his mind for math. Why did they have to do math first thing in the morning? His mind couldn’t take it.

 

School passed slowly as Hyunjin went from class to class, his concentration dropping as they day went on. As the bell signifying the end of the school day rang, Hyunjin packed all his stuff and waited for Felix to join him before they started down the hallway. Hyunjin had gotten familiar with the school by now and rarely got lost anymore, which was a relief for him. They were joined by Jisung on the way and Hyunjin introduced the two.

 

Jisung was also a little tired but he cheered up at his new friend and the two of them chatted, with Hyunjin trailing behind a little, letting Jisung lead the way.

 

Jisung burst through the door, making Changbin jump and glare at his junior.

 

“We’re here!!” Jisung grinned at his grumpy senior.

 

“I noticed.” Changbin rolled his eyes before looking over to the door and seeing the newcomer.

 

“Oh hi, you’re the new member?” Felix nodded somewhat shyly and Changbin got up from his seat at the mixing equipment.

 

“Since Chan and Woojin hyung aren’t here, I’ll give you a little tour. My name is Changbin and I’m a second year by the way.” Felix nodded while Changbin looked at him expectantly. Felix stared back blankly and Jisung nudged him unceremoniously.

 

“Oh, uh… I’m Felix, a first year.” Changbin nodded and started on his small tour quietly. Hyunjin and Jisung shared a look before shrugging and sitting down.

 

Jisung went over to Chan’s production equipment and started playing around with it, making Changbin to shout at him from across the room not to mess up anything.

 

Jisung just laughed and continued playing with it and Hyunjin just sighed at his childish friend before going to a mirror hanging in the corner of the room. Selecting a song, he started warming up before dancing to the beat.

 

The room was filled with the sounds of Jisung clicking around and Hyunjin’s music. Not long after, Changbin finished his tour and went over to Jisung while Felix came over to Hyunjin and watched as Hyunjin moved his limbs to the beat.

 

The song soon came to an end and Hyunjin sat beside Felix, who had a dreamy look on his face.

 

“Why do you look so happy?” Hyunjin asked, a little out of breath.

 

“You didn’t tell me that Changbin hyung was so charismatic.” Felix pouted a little.

 

“Huh?” Hyunjin looked at Felix incredulously and was about to reply when the door slammed open.

 

Hyunjin barely had the time to turn around when someone glomped him with so much force that he almost fell over.

 

“How are my kids~?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the hits and kudos!  
> Happy new year! I hope everyone has a great year ahead!

“How are my kids~?” Chan grinned before realising that there was someone he didn’t recognize sitting beside him.

 

He turned his head to look at the younger boy who was staring at him with a weird look on his face.

 

Hyunjin tried unsuccessfully to shrug Chan off his shoulders but Chan held on.

 

Chan grinned again and reached out a hand to the freckled boy, “You must be Hyunjin's friend! Welcome to the music club!”

 

“Wait, we’re called the music club? I thought we were the production club or something.” Chan looked up at the voice and just shrugged at Changbin.

 

“I forgot what I wrote on the club form so the music club it is.”

 

“Uhm, I’m pretty sure I signed up for the music production club.” Felix piped up and smiled awkwardly as everyone looked at him.

 

“Eh, we were both right then.” Chan shrugged and got off Hyunjin’s back to the younger boy’s relief.

 

“Come around guys, let’s introduce ourselves.” Chan pulled all the chairs in the room into the middle and settled into one.

 

Changbin sighed and joined the circle with Jisung trailing a little behind him.

 

Once everyone was settled down, they went round with their introductions, sometimes adding on random facts about each other as they went on.

 

Chan smiled as he saw that Felix was starting to relax a little more as they continued talking well after their introductions were over. He even started adding on to their conversations, which was relieving for Chan. Chan had been worried about his club for a while now, but it seemed that the new batch had an interest in music, which was good.

 

When he first started the club, it was just him and Woojin and Chan had been worried about their club dying. With the influx in members, Chan started to relax a little more, seeing as his club wouldn’t get terminated any time soon.

 

He got up to get back to producing when he noticed that he had spent well over an hour just staring at the others chatting. He snapped out of his daze and got up from the chair, heading towards his nice gaming chair in the corner.

 

As he walked past, he felt someone tug on his shirt and he looked down to see Woojin frowning at him.

 

“Where are you going? I thought you said you would take a break today?” Chan gulped at the intimidating look Woojin was giving him and croaked out a weak excuse.

 

“I- uh, I have some inspiration right now.” Woojin did not look impressed and dragged him back to his seat.

 

“You are going to take a break today, Chan. Mingyu told me about how you stayed up all night to mix something last night.” Chan noticed that everyone had stopped their conversation and just let himself be dragged back to his seat in the circle.

 

Hyunjin giggled a little at the exchange and whispered something to Jisung who just smiled softly.

 

Chan sighed again and listened as the conversation picked up again. He _did_ have inspiration- kinda. He did spend all night mixing, but that was because he had a deadline! Having to make 3 songs a month to continue functioning as a club was stressful.

 

Chan frowned at the thought and Changbin looked over to see Chan glaring at the floor.

 

“What are you glaring at, hyung? You look like a kid who didn’t get what they wanted.” Changbin leaned in and whispered.

 

“Changbin-- Woojin wouldn’t let me go back to work.” Chan pouted a little. Changbin rolled his eyes and merely stated that what Woojin said had a point before returning to his conversation with Felix.

 

Chan sighed for the millionth time before striking up a conversation with Hyunjin and Jisung.

 

“Soo… how are y'all adjusting to school?” Chan relaxed on his chair and made a mental note to request more comfortable chairs for the club.

 

“It's fine I guess, power classes are really draining.” Jisung smiled somewhat uneasily and shot Hyunjin a look.

 

Hyunjin returned the look and Chan tilted his head slightly as he looked at the two friends who seemed to be communicating telepathically.

 

“Is there something you guys want to ask?” Hyunjin and Jisung dropped their intense stare and Jisung smiled, “Nah it's nothing much-”

 

Chan was suspicious but decided not to say anything, maybe it was something private? Anyway, he had his own problems to worry about.

 

“Felix, would you like me to show you around our humble abode?” Chan smiled to the freckled boy who looked up from his conversation with Changbin, a little surprised to be so suddenly addressed.

 

“Oh um sure,” Felix smiled, giving Changbin a sideway glance. Changbin just shrugged, looking just a little irritated and Felix got up from his seat.

 

Chan started going over everything in the room, the programs they used and how to use them, the instruments and where everything was etc. He wondered how he even remembered all this but not the equation for photosynthesis.

 

Felix listened attentively, nodding along with the explanation. Chan wondered around the room, Felix trailing after him like a lost puppy. Chan looked back at Felix once in a while and noticed how cute Felix actually was despite his initial intimidating impression.

 

After Chan was finished with the tour, which took about half an hour since Chan had been going into specifics about all the programs, he asked, “So Felix, what do you actually like to do?”

 

“I like dancing i guess?” Felix blinked.

 

“Ooh, so you can join Hyunjin I guess. I didn’t really plan to have choreography or dancing in general but I don’t mind you guys practicing at that empty space over at the mirror. I may ask you to record songs once in a while, probably the rap parts, is that ok with you?” Felix nodded enthusiastically and Chan smiled widely.

 

The two headed back to the circle and they continued to talk and laugh up until the announcement for dinner rang out. They had been talking for about 5 hours, which was a kind of a relief that they got along so well.

 

They headed off to the dining hall together before splitting up to head to their respective tables. Chan trailed a little behind Woojin, admiring the room he had had dinner in for about 3 years now.

 

“Hey, you ok?” Chan looked up to Woojin, who had slowed down a little to match Chan’s pace.

 

Chan gave a little smile and assured him, “Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about how our club will be since we have so many new additions.”

 

Woojin laughed a little and Chan basked in the angelic sound, “We don’t have _many_ new additions, we have 3. I heard that the dance club got 18 new people.”

 

“I wonder why Hyunjin and Felix didn’t join the dance club though… They seem to just like dancing and our club isn’t really about that.” Chan mused.

 

“Are you worried that they’ll leave the club?” Woojin picked up on Chan’s worries and sighed, “I don’t think that they will leave, Chan. They seem quite at home in the club. And I don’t think that Hyunjin would leave Jisung here, especially since they are so close. I’m not too sure about Felix but he does seem to be attached to Hyunjin as well.”

 

Chan merely shrugged and stretched a little before sitting in his usual seat beside Woojin.

 

“Hey, I have something to tell you, can I go over to your dorm later?” Chan looked up from his pile of bread and nodded, swallowing his mouthful of carbs.

 

“Why do you need to tell me at my dorm? Can’t you tell me now?”

 

“Well, it’s about… you know,” Woojin directed his gaze toward the stage at the end of the dining hall and the idea clicked in Chan’s head.

 

He nodded in understanding before returning to his food, trying not to look too worried. Woojin had been noticing weird happenings in the school due to his powers. His hypersensitive senses were a plus for him to eavesdrop and hear the happenings in school and he had heard a little more than what he was supposed to about the school.

 

Woojin was concerned about what was happening at the school, but didn’t know what he could do about it.

 

After everyone finished their dinner, the students pooled out of the dining hall and headed back to their dorms or to the library to study.

 

Woojin headed over to Chan’s dorm with him, chatting about school work and club activities.

 

Entering the dorm room, Chan saw that one of his roomates was already there on his bed.

 

Dongmin looked up and smiled at the two, “Hey Woojin~ how long are you going to stay today? Do ya’ll need me to go somewhere?”

 

Woojin greeted him back before answering, “I won’t be here for long, I just wanted to go over something with Chan. You can stay here, we won’t disturb you.”

 

Dongmin nodded and crossed the room to get started with his homework, putting on his earphones to give them a little privacy.

 

Chan really appreciated Dongmin’s consideration and turned to Woojin.

“So, what do you want to tell me?” Chan whispered so as not to disturb Dongmin.

 

Woojin sighed and started, “So I’ve already told you about everything, but I heard something new the other night. I was awake to finish some homework when I heard something outside. I went back to my bed and listened for a while. I heard one of them say, “Which room are we going to today?” And the other said they were going to room 25.”

 

Chan squirmed a little on the bed, “You _are_ sure that they are doing experiments on us? I mean, we don’t really have any evidence…”

 

Woojin frowned, “I don’t know, Chan… but isn’t room 25 Jisung and Hyunjin’s room?”

 

Chan stared at Woojin, wide-eyed, “You don’t think…?”

 

“I mean, we still don’t know what exactly they are doing when they experiment on us, but it can’t be good right? There is a chance that their roommate was the one who got carried off, but I guess we won’t know.”

 

Chan sighed again and leaned back on his bed, his head spinning.

 

He never would have thought that the school would be doing such experiments on them when he first joined the school. Woojin had first told him about what he heard at night when they were year 2, having been in the same class as Woojin.

 

He did not really believe Woojin at first, but after staying awake for many nights, he himself had heard such mutters and activity outside his dorm without needing Woojin’s senses.

 

At that moment, Mingyu returned to the dorm room, startling Woojin a little before he relaxed, seeing that it was just Mingyu.

 

“Oh hey, did I disturb you guys?” Mingyu looked a little surprised.

 

Woojin smiled, “It’s fine, I just finished my discussion with Chan. I’ll leave soon.”

 

Mingyu nodded and entered the room, moving over to his bed and settling on it.

 

“What can we do about this?” Chan whispered to Woojin.

 

Woojin frowned even more and Chan frowned with him. “Stop frowning like that, you look better smiling.”

 

Woojin looked a little surprised but soon smiled softly and nodding.

 

Woojin soon left the dorm after bidding farewell to the three boys in the room. Chan smiled a little as he watched Woojin leave the room.

 

“So… what exactly did you guys talk about?” Chan blinked and looked up to see Dongmin smiling widely at him.

 

“Uh… nothing much? We were talking about club activities. We just got 3 new members so there were some things to sort out.”

 

Dongmin huffed, “Also, when are you going to tell him that you like him? You were being really obvious just now.”

 

Chan sputtered, “I, I- what?”

 

“Come on, you know you like him! I saw how you were smiling so admiringly at him just now!” Mingyu grinned, reaching over to hit Chan.

 

Chan just shook his head and muttered that he was going to shower.

 

As he let the warm water run down his face, he sighed and let his muscles relax.

 

What were they going to do about what the school was doing? What if everything they thought they knew was not true? Also, what did his roomates mean about his feelings toward Woojin? Did he really like him?

 

Chan shook his head aggressively before sighing heavily yet again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update, been procrastinating on everything.  
> Also, I gave up on naming chapters so hope that's fine with everyone!  
> Thank you guys for all the hits and kudos!

Felix sighed as he slowly made his way back to the dorm rooms. He may or may not have eaten one too many doughnuts for dessert but he didn't regret anything.

 

Today had been quite a fulfilling day for him, finally joining a club and meeting new people. He had wanted to try out for the dance club but seeing that there were too many people for his liking, he backed out.

 

He was glad that Hyunjin suggested the club for him and he smiled to himself as he thought of how much fun they were going to have together.

 

Still lost in thoughts, he entered his dorm room only to be greeted by a familiar sight.

 

“Hyung-! Help meeee” Felix merely sighed and plopped his stuff onto his desk while watching the scene unfold in front of him.

 

Seungmin was once again harassing Jeongin by poking him, hugging him and just being an annoyance in general.

 

Jeongin was, as usual, trying to break free from his clingy senior to no avail.

 

“Hyungggg” Jeongin pleaded again and Felix couldn't resist the puppy eyes he was giving him.

 

“Ok that's enough for today.” Felix grabbed Seungmin by the collar and pulled him off the younger.

 

Seungmin struggled a little before giving up and going limp with Felix holding him up. Jeongin took advantage of the older being held captive and escaped into the bathroom.

 

Felix finally let go of Seungmin and sat down on his bed when he heard Jeongin lock the door behind him, giving the younger a few minutes of peace to shower.

 

“So how was that new club you joined?” Seungmin collapsed on his bed and looked over at Felix.

 

Felix smiled a little before replying, “Everyone's really nice there. Hey, you haven't joined a club yet right? Why not try out for my club?”

 

Seungmin frowned a little before rolling over and looking up at the ceiling.

 

“I don't know man… I just feel like I should focus on my studies and not get distracted by clubs or whatever not.”

 

Felix whistled, “Whatever you say, Mr. Smartypants-”

 

A pillow came sailing over and hitting Felix straight in the head, the force causing him to fall sideways onto his bed.

 

“You say that, but isn't Jeongin smarter? I mean he's a whole year younger than us.” Seungmin huffed.

 

“Jeongin is a different case. He's…” Felix gestured his hands, “...smart?”

 

Seungmin rolled his eyes and stood up to retrieve his pillow.

 

“You guys better not be talking behind my back! I can hear you guys talking about me!” A muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door.

 

“We’re not, our lovely maknae~” Seungmin sang back.

 

They heard a disgruntled grunt in response and giggled to themselves.

 

“Hey, do you know how Jeongin's doing in power classes?” The thought popped up in Felix's head and he turned to his roommate.

 

Seungmin frowned slightly before sighing, “Well, I never actually saw him using them. From what I know, he would have to let out blood to use his power so the teacher allows him to just learn 'theory’ though I don't know how that helps.”

 

“Well, we wouldn't want him forcing himself…” Seungmin nodded in agreement.

 

“How's he doing in other classes though?”

 

Felix tilted his head slightly before replying, “He seems to be getting along well but he's a little quiet in class. He doesn't really talk to others and really only talks to me or Hyunjin.”

 

Seungmin's frown deepened and he sighed again, opening his mouth to respond when the bathroom door clicked open.

 

Jeongin came into the room with a towel around his shoulders and he looked to his two hyungs.

 

“What's with the serious mood?” Jeongin grabbed his school bag before pulling out some papers and putting them on his desk.

 

Seungmin softened upon the arrival of the younger boy and grinned at him.

 

 

“It’s nothing, Jeonginie~ Do your work sweetie~” Jeongin visibly cringed at the pet name and Seungmin immediately vaulted off his bed onto Jeongin, who yelled in surprise.

 

Felix smiled affectionately at the two boys as they bickered playfully. Although they had been quite cold and shy at first, Felix was glad they opened up and were able to become friends.

 

‘I should probably start on my homework…’ Felix thought as he lay on his bed. The sound of his two friends fighting soon blended into the background noise as Felix drifted off into sleep.

 

Felix once again checked his bag to make sure that he had everything he needed, his Candy Bong, extra batteries, a lens for his phone, some small snacks, money, his ticket and all his banners.

 

It was not his first concert but boy was he excited. It had been over a year since he last saw Twice live due to his busy schedule for his final year. What’s more, since he had done quite well for his tests, his parents had gotten him an exclusive pass to the high-touch event with Twice before the concert started.

 

Felix was nearly bursting with excitement as he neared the stadium, the space already filled with Onces talking and queueing. Felix squinted a little as he tried to read the signs while the sun glared down and flared on every reflective surface.

 

Felix looked longingly at the queue for the official merch but made his way to the high-touch event entrance. Although he had wanted to camp there with a few friends, his parents didn’t allow him to seeing that he had been insanely busy the day before.

 

Showing his ticket to the guard, Felix made his way into the small venue and awaited the arrival of his idols with the rest of the restless crowd.

 

Not long after, an announcement was made that the idols would be entering shortly. Felix bounced in his seat and stretched his neck to get a better look at the door his idols would be coming through.

 

Just as the door opened to reveal his idols, Felix tripped over his feet in excitement and fell over.

 

Felix woke up with a start and blinked a few times, piecing together what had happened.

 

After he realised that it had been a dream, he was a little disappointed by quickly brushed it off. Sitting up, he realised that he was still in his school uniform.

 

Muttering curses under his breath, Felix checked the time and relaxed a little seeing that it was still 1 in the morning.

 

He hurriedly gathered his clothes and rushed into the bathroom, momentarily blinding himself with the lights.

 

Trying to be as quiet as possible, he quickly shed off his school uniform and stepped into the shower.

 

He scrubbed himself down at record speed and rinsed all the soap off before stepping out again.

 

While he was towelling himself dry, he heard a faint knock from outside but thought of it as his imagination until he heard the outside door creak open and footsteps approach into the room.

 

Quickly donning his pajamas, he aggressively towelled his hair dry and went to the bathroom door to hear what was happening.

 

He heard quiet murmuring but couldn't make out the words. Furrowing his brows, he peeked under the door of the bathroom, not really wanting to be caught out of bed at this time.

 

He saw two pairs of feet advancing towards the beds and watched quietly. He heard someone curse somewhat loudly before footsteps retreated away, only to be interrupted by a loud thump and someone yowling somewhat quietly.

 

Felix quickly opened the door to see a man sitting close to the open doorway, his face illuminated by the bathroom light.

 

Crossing the room, Felix bent down next to the man and whispered, “Are you ok?”

 

The man merely whimpered and focused his attention on his ankle.

 

Felix assumed he had either sprained or broke his ankle but judging from the swelling, it was more likely to be sprained. Looking around him, Felix identified what had possibly caused the fall. Jeongin had a huge box of stuffed toys right at the entrance and hadn't bothered to clear it up.

 

Stifling a giggle, Felix turned back to the man and clicked his tongue to get his attention. Once the man was looking at Felix, he said, “I'm going to heal your ankle for you, so please stay still.”

 

The man's eyes widened but he nodded and obediently stayed in position. Felix positioned his hand over the man's ankle, which caused him to jerk a little.

 

Before he started healing the man, Felix asked quietly, “Who are you and what are you doing here? If you don't answer I'll just leave you here like this.”

 

Felix didn't really have the heart to leave the man in pain, but he also needed answers.

 

“I-,” The man started, swallowing.

 

“I was patrolling and noticed that there were sounds coming from your room so I knocked and came in to see what it was about. When I heard you open the door, I panicked a little and tripped on that box.”

 

Felix furrowed his eyebrows, didn't the man start retreating to the door _before_ Felix had opened the door? And Felix was pretty sure the sounds of water couldn't be heard from the hallway, since the rooms were pretty soundproof. He decided not to question the man further and placed his hand fully on his ankle, causing him to squirm slightly in pain.

 

Focusing on the injury, Felix closed his eyes and assessed the damage before starting to mend the bone.

 

The bone moved back to its normal position and the man yelped slightly. Felix felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. Turns out he still wasn't as good as he thought he was.

 

After fully mending all the damaged ligaments, he pulled his hand away from the man's ankle and sat back, exhausted.

 

The man nodded timidly in thanks and stood up to leave. Testing his foot, he thanked Felix again, Felix waving it off. After seeing that the man had left, Felix closed and locked the door behind him.

 

He hadn't trusted the man, and what he said didn't add up. Felix had never seen that man around school before, he certainly wasn't a teacher. Also, hadn't he seen _two_ people? Who was the other guy and where did he go? What did they want from them?

 

Yawning, he dragged himself back onto his bed and barely pulled the covers over himself when the exhaustion of his powers washed over him and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

“-lix, Felixxxxxx wake uppppppppp” Felix slowly opened his eyes, not wanting to get up just yet.

 

“Felix, you're going to miss breakfast if you don't wake up soon.” Felix jolted up, not wanting to miss his favourite time of the day. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around the room drowsily.

 

Jeongin was the one who had woken him up and was already in his uniform, his bag packed and sitting neatly on his desk.

 

Felix was still trying to piece together his memories when Seungmin emerged from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.

 

Felix blinked again, looking toward the bathroom and then to the box of toys of Jeongin’s. That hadn't been a dream right?

 

“Good to see that you at least washed up at night. Almost thought you were going to sleep in your uniform for the whole night.” Seungmin commented through a mouth full of toothpaste.

 

“Eww don't talk when you're brushing your teeth, the toothpaste is splattering everywhere.” Jeongin complained, backing away from Seungmin.

 

Felix finally grasped what had happened and blinked. He could still feel the remains of exhaustion clinging to him. wow. He really had to work on improving his power stamina.

 

He got out of bed quietly, still pondering the events of the night before while getting his uniform from his cupboard and heading to bathroom to freshen up and change.

 

“Hey, is something bothering you?” Felix snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Seungmin wide-eyed.

 

Seungmin sighed and asked again, “Look, you are not acting normal, did something happen?”

 

“I-” Felix considered telling them what had happened and continued, “something _did_ happen last night, but I don't really know what to think.”

 

This caught the attention of his roommates.

 

“Last night? You mean when we were sleeping?” Jeongin asked, curious.

 

Felix nodded and started his story, “It all started with my dream of meeting Twice…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the hits and kudos! It really does mean a lot to me :")  
> Damn I can't believe Astro and SVT are going to have comebacks in like the same week. (kinda). Not to mention the BTS concert oml.  
> Gotta prepare my wigs.  
> Ok so I may or may not have messed up with Sanha's abilities but let's just say that he's an air bender alright? :")

“We don't need to know that, Felix. Just skip that part.” Seungmin rolled his eyes.

 

Felix pouted but complied, skipping the part of his dream, which he only vaguely remembered anyway, and told the other 2 about the happening the night before.

 

Seungmin and Jeongin listened quietly, Jeongin gasping softly once or twice.

 

Once Felix finished his encounter, the three of them sat there in silence for a while, Seungmin and Jeongin digesting the information.

 

“But if you don't believe that they were here to check on you, then why would be in our room at that time?” Jeongin piped up.

 

Felix frowned, visibly perplexed.

 

“That's what I've been thinking about, but nothing I think of adds up. What that guy said was obviously a lie so I'm not going to consider that.”

 

Seungmin, who had stayed quiet the entire time, opened his mouth to give his opinion when Jeongin suddenly gasped.

 

“Y'all! It's already past 8, we need to get to the dining hall stat!”

 

The two of them turned to the clock sat on Jeongin's bedside table and looked at each other wide-eyed.

 

They quickly scrambled out of bed and grabbed their stuff before rushing out of the dorm.

 

The last of the late risers were already hurriedly heading to the dining hall.

 

They ran toward the dining hall before being yelled at by  teacher to slow down. They then proceeded to speed walk and got to the dining hall just in time for the principal’s morning address.

 

The teacher at the door ushered them in hurriedly and they found their seats, quickly settling down.

 

They relaxed a little and grabbed some food onto their plates while the principal went up to the podium and started talking.

 

Seungmin tuned out the principal's voice, not really wanting to hear whatever motivational speech the principal came up with today.

 

Felix was distracted, talking to someone Seungmin assumed was Hyunjin, according to the descriptions Felix had given him.

 

Seungmin brooded over what Felix had told him as he nibbled at his pancakes.

 

He picked up a bottle of maple syrup and proceeded to drown his pancakes in the sugary fluid.

 

He stared absently as the syrup flowed onto his stack of pancakes before Jeongin stole the bottle of syrup from his hand.

 

'Who were the those people even? I get why Felix would distrust that guy's words, they don't make sense, but why else would they be coming into our room? Come to think of it, this school's security is top notch, so they must be the staff or some registered visitor right?’ Seungmin made a face.

 

“Hyung, what are you thinking about? You look really ugly right now.” As Jeongin spoke around his mouthful of waffles, a fine spray of crumbs shot out of his mouth.

 

Seungmin looked at Jeongin, clearly disgusted. Jeongin merely grinned and motioned for Seungmin to reply to him.

 

Seungmin signed and picked at his pancakes, “I was just thinking about what Felix said this morning.”

 

“What's the point of thinking so hard about it? We don't have enough information to hypothesize anything.”

 

Seungmin shrugged and finished up his food just as the bell for the classes to start rung.

 

He downed his milk and gathered all his bags before heading down to his first class.

 

Pulling out his tablet, he bid farewell to Jeongin, who quietly joined Felix, who was chatting happily to Hyunjin.

 

He scrolled to his timetable and heaved a sigh.

 

'Math huh? I'm probably going to sleep. It's too early for math…’

 

Reaching his classroom, he opened the door and plonked his bag onto his tape before sitting and pulling out his books.

 

“Mornin- woah there, control yourself Seungmin!”

 

Seungmin blinked and looked at his seatmate who was clearly shocked.

 

“Huh?” Seungmin looked at him questioningly.

 

“You're discharging electricity man, calm down a little.”

 

Oh. Seungmin blinked and noticed that he _was_ discharging electricity. His hair was standing and his hands twitched with the current flowing through them. Focusing, he shut down the power source and tried to relax a little.

 

“What's the matter? I've never seen you this agitated before.”

 

“It's- it's nothing Jisung. I'm just a little stressed.”

 

“About what? We don't have any tests or anything right? Wait, was there a test? Shoot, I didn't study for anything-” The boy started panicking before Seungmin shook his head.

 

“Nah, it isn't anything like that, I'm just not used to the environment yet.” He gave a small reassuring smile and the other frowned.

 

“Are you sure? You control your powers pretty well normally so you must be really stressed about something.” Seungmin sighed.

 

Why couldn't Jisung be more easily fooled? He didn't really want to tell Jisung about his suspicions since something might happen.

 

He was luckily saved as the bell went off and the teacher, Mr Seo, walked into class a few seconds later.

 

Seeing the stack of papers in the his hands, the class collectively groaned as Mr Seo grinned and clapped his hands.

 

“We're going to start off class with a pop quiz so keep all your books and seperate your tables! Cheating is not tolerated so keep your eyes to yourself.”

 

Seungmin quietly shifted his table, secretly relieved that he did not have to say anything to Jisung.

 

He shot Jisung a look indicating that he would tell the other whatever was on his mind later, but with no intention of doing so.

 

The whole class quickly settled down and Seungmin got started with the quiz. It was a quiz on indices, a topic he was well versed in, so he didn't have any problems solving the questions.

 

After about 15 minutes, he put down his pen and checked over his answers one last time. He still had another 15 minutes left so he started doodling on his test paper.

 

Humming quietly to himself, he drew random animals around his paper and waited for the time to pass.

 

He looked over at Jisung to see him staring at the paper in confusion, his eyebrows scrunched up.

 

He felt a slight wind rustle his uniform and looked at the window, his brows furrowed. Why was there wind? The windows weren't even open.

 

Just then, the wind got stronger, the test papers starting to fly off student’s desks, causing much scrambling and shouting.

 

Mr Seo had gotten up from his seat at the teachers table to see what the commotion was about but couldn't take a step toward the students as the wind hurled around the class.

 

“San- Sanha! Is it Sanha who’s doing this?!” Jisung yelled over the winds.

 

Seungmin struggled to stay in his seat but turned to the side to look at where Sanha was seated. Sanha was indeed in the middle of the storm, his hair untouched by the wind.

 

Sanha seemed to be struggling with his power, squinting as beads of sweat trickled down his cheek.

 

“Sanha! If that's you, stop this at once!” Mr Seo yelled across the room.

 

By now, students from other classes had pooled outside to see what was going on against the warnings of their teachers.

 

“Help, help me-” Sanha struggled to get the words out of his mouth before he slumped over in his seat, the winds dying down as he drifted out of consciousness.

 

Jisung was the first to rush over to the taller boy, his hair a mess after going through the whirlwind of papers and assorted items.

 

Everyone else were stunned by the sudden interruption and stared wide-eyed as Jisung shook the other.

 

“Jisung, get someone to help you take him to the nurse's room. I'll call the year head right away. The rest of you, stay in class. I won't take too long.” Mr Seo instructed.

 

Jisung was tearing up as he grabbed hold of Sanha's arm, slinging it over his shoulder.

 

“Hey, why are you crying? It's not your fault, Jisung.” Seungmin frowned as he took hold of the boy’s other arm.

 

The two of them hoisted him up, which was difficult seeing that he was taller than both of them.

 

Jisung sniffled as they shuffled out of the classroom, only to be met by stares and murmurs from the crowd outside the class.

 

“Everyone, go back to your classroom now. Stop crowding!” Mr Seo harshly instructed.

 

Most of the students complied, shocked at how serious the usually kind and playful Mr Seo was.

 

Seungmin looked at Jisung worriedly, the other trying to hold in tears as they followed their teacher to the nurse's office.

 

“What's the matter Jisung?” Jisung just shook his head, blinking his tears out of his eyes.

 

They soon came to the nurse's office where Sanha was hurriedly taken to a bed and looked to by the head nurse.

 

Mr Yoon soon came by to check on him and Mr Seo left to return to class.

 

He had allowed the two boys to stay at the office for a while before having them to return.

 

As the head nurse and Mr Yoon talked in hushed voices, Jisung sighed deeply.

 

“Seriously man, what's the matter?” Seungmin asked, genuinely concerned.

 

Jisung was playing with a small piece of machinery and sniffed. “I just- I feel like I could have done something. Didn't you see his face just now? He looked like he was in so much pain.”

 

“Jisung, hey look at me. You do know that there was nothing you could have done right? Even if you were strong enough to push pass his wind, what were you going to do? Only he can control his own powers.”

 

“But still-” Jisung dropped the machinery onto his lap as he sighed again, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

 

“I just feel like such a horrible friend.” Jisung trailed off dejectedly.

 

Now he was making him angry.

 

“Jisung. You're _not_ a bad friend, you hear me? You were the first to go and help Sanha out, and I'm sure he would appreciate what you've done for him. He would probably also not like that you're blaming yourself so much on what happened. So stop doing that, ok?” Seungmin looked Jisung straight in the eye and said strictly.

 

Jisung seemed to think about it for a while before nodding and relaxing his shoulders. Seeing this, Seungmin gave a small smile and settled his arm around Jisung.

 

“Are you boys still here? It seems he wouldn't wake up for a while, so why don't you two head back to class first. We'll find out what happened when he wakes up.” Mr Yoon gave them a tired smile and shooed them off.

 

As they headed back to class, Seungmin couldn't help but worry over his friend. Seeing that Jisung blamed himself for whatever reason, Seungmin didn't really want to leave him alone to suffer.

 

Seungmin thus proceeded to follow Jisung around the whole day, even to the toilet.

 

“Hey… I'm going to head off to my club now, so you can stop following me around.” Jisung looked at Seungmin weirdly, who just smiled innocently in return.

 

“We haven't visited Sanha yet, why not go up to the nurse's office first?” Seungmin piped up, wanting to reassure Jisung that Sanha was fine.

 

Jisung considered this before sighing, “Fine. but after that, can you stop following me like a lost puppy?”

 

Seungmin happily agreed and they headed off to the nurse's office where they found the nurse to be on break and thus not around.

 

They instead found Hyunjin talking and laughing with Sanha, who was sitting up in his bed.

 

“Oh, hey Jisung, Seungmin!” Sanha smiled widely at the two.

 

Jisung immediately broke into a grin and ran forward to hug the taller boy, who accepted it cheerfully.

 

“How are you feeling? Don't stress yourself out too much ok? Was it because of the test? Honestly same.” Jisung started chattering and Hyunjin shared a look with Seungmin.

 

Seungmin had seen Hyunjin around before, being seatmates with his childhood friend increasing the chance of seeing him around.

 

He didn't really know Hyunjin that well, but didn't mind having someone to judge Jisung with.

 

Sanha laughed awkwardly and replied, “I'm feeling much better actually! I don't really know why or how I lost control just now, but it's not because of the test.” Sanha frowned a little.

 

“I just suddenly couldn't control my power… I've never had the power to control such strong winds before either. I don't really know how it happened, it's all a little fuzzy.”

 

Jisung nodded sympathetically and continued asking questions until he was satisfied that his roommate was indeed alright.

 

“Jisung, we should probably go the club now, we're already super late.” Hyunjin prodded Jisung in the side, causing the shorter boy to jump.

 

“What? Oh hex. We've got to go, hope you recover we'll Sanha! Make sure to get a lot of rest! Yell if you need anythi-” Jisung was dragged out of the office before he could finish his sentence.

 

Sanha merely laughed and Seungmin stood awkwardly by the door.

 

“Uhm… maybe I should leave too-” Seungmin edged closer to the door but stopped when he saw Sanha pouting.

 

“I don't want to be alone… why don't you stay for a while?” He whined.

 

Seungmin didn't know how to respond and simply took a seat beside Sanha’s bed. He ended up just listening to Sanha talk about every subject under the sun, from how much he loved stuffed sheep to the best recipe for French toast.

 

“And then Myungjun hyung made this horrendous sauce. I don't even know what he put in that thing. There was like honey and wasabi or something. He made all of us try it and I almost vomited.” Sanha laughed as he recalled the memory.

 

Seungmin smiled as he sat there nodding along to the stories. Sanha was actually rather cute and he was glad that he was open enough to ask Seungmin to stay.

 

By the time Seungmin looked up to the clock, almost an hour had passed and Seungmin blinked. That was fast.

 

“Hey, I have to go now, hope you get well soon.” Seungmin gave a small smile that was met with a bright and cheery smile as Sanha bid him farewell.

 

'I guess people aren't so bad after all…’

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn my autocorrect keeps correcting Sanha to Santa


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a minor trigger warning, there will be violence in this chapter.  
> Thank you once again for all the hits and kudos, and I hope you enjoy the story ^^

Jeongin sighed as he stretched in his chair. The last lesson was his most dreaded: Power classes.

 

“See you tomorrow, Jeongin!” Jeongin smiled as he waved toward his seatmate who headed off with her friend.

 

It wasn't that power classes were difficult per se, it was just that he felt a little left out watching everyone practice their powers while he just read the the resources his teacher handed him.

 

Grabbing his bag, he stuffed all his books and papers into it before heading over to Seungmin’s class.

 

Frowning, he pulled out his tablet as he leaned against the wall outside of Seungmin’s classroom. They were still having lessons and he could hear the faint sounds of the teacher talking about something science-y.

 

He tapped on one of his chats and started typing.

 

**Ms Park**

13/1 4.53pm

It's ok, Jeongin. Just try your best :)

Ok…

Remember to report back next week, hope there will be improvement.

Got it. Thank you Ms Park

Of course, have a good day.

20/1 12.56pm

Hello Ms Park, I've tried again over the week but I don't feel like I'm able to do it either today. I am not mentally prepared to do it just yet. I’m sorry.

  


Not wanting to see his teacher’s reply, he quickly stuffed his tablet away and proceeded to stare into space.

 

“Oh, you’re early today.” Jeongin looked up when he heard the familiar voice and gave a small smile before the two made their way to their classroom.

 

“So, how’s your progress on your control?” Seungmin asked cautiously.

 

Jeongin merely shrugged and murmured, “Still can’t use it.”

 

Seungmin just sighed and dropped the topic, commenting about his day. Jeongin listened quietly, at times smiling as Seungmin recalled the weird things Jisung had done that day.

 

Jeongin felt his tablet vibrate and pulled it out to see a notification.

 

**Ms Park**

I see… I am a little worried for you, if you can’t use your powers, you might not be able to learn how to control it, especially when your emotions get out of hand. Since your power is so unusual, you may need more time to get a hold of it so I do hope you can start using it soon. Wish you all the best! Remember, just focus and try to overcome your fear.

 

Grimacing, he stuffed his tablet back, not wanting to think about what was to come.

 

Jeongin looked up to see Seungmin staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

 

“What do you want hyung? Stop staring at me.” Jeongin grinned as he poked at the holder's side.

 

Seungmin slapped away his hands, giving him a small smile. Having lightened the mood, the two chatted happily at they made their way to the last class.

 

“Oh yeah! So what exactly happened the other day? There was like a tornado in your class?” Jeongin inquired.

 

“That was Sanha. He seemed to lose control of his powers but he's fine now.” Seungmin frowned a little.

 

“Why did he lose control? We're you guys doing something particularly emotional?” Jeongin dropped his bag beside his table and sat down heavily on the chair.

 

Seungmin did the same with more grace before answering, “I'm not really sure, we were doing a math pop quiz, but I don't think Sanha would be that stressed over it, heck even Jisung would be more stressed.”

 

Jeongin shrugged and took out his homework for the class.

 

As soon as Ms Park entered the room, everyone quietened down and listened attentively.

 

It seemed that everyone’s favourite class was power classes, which was understandable, but Jeongin wished he didn't have to be there.

 

After Ms Park went over the theory part of the lesson and assigned everyone practices to do, she headed over to Jeongin’s table.

 

Jeongin stared at his worksheet, not wanting to face his teacher.

 

“Jeongin, it's OK, you don't have to force yourself.” Jeongin looked up to see Ms Park’s gentle face.

 

She touched his shoulder and continued, “I know it's hard for you, but I just have to let you know that if you can't use your abilities well enough by the end of the semester, we will have to take action, and I want to minimize the possibility of that. So I'll give you some space to learn to overcome your fear, is that ok with you?” Jeongin nodded as he looked at Seungmin from the corner of his eye.

 

Seungmin was staring intensely at a phone with his hand placed at the bottom. His assignment had been to charge the phone to full battery, no more, no less using a controlled amount of electricity.

 

Jeongin wondered what it was like to have a ‘normal’ power like the elements or the ‘tele’ powers (what is that-)

 

Heck, he would have even settled for a rare ability like talking to animals or plants. Anything but the scary and dangerous power he possessed. It didn't help that he had been traumatized when he was young.

 

Jeongin shuddered as he remembered his past and blinked a few times to snap out of it. He felt tears well up in his eyes and quickly wiped them away before anyone noticed.

 

Ms Park had already went over to help other students and Jeongin sat as he stared at his hands, imagining the veins that ran along his arms.

 

Maybe he had already gotten over his fear? If he just tried…

 

He looked over to Seungmin, who was trying to not to fry the phone in front of him. Seeing the look of determination on Seungmin's face, something clicked in Jeongin and he suddenly felt motivated to give it a try.

 

“Hyung,” Seungmin looked up from his phone to see Jeongin holding up a small knife.

 

Seungmin blinked before he muttered an inaudible, “huh? I won't in what are you doing?”

 

“I want to try to use my powers.” Jeongin answered.

 

“You what?” Seungmin almost yelled.

 

Jeongin quickly shushed Seungmin, not wanting to have anyone's attention on him.

 

“Are you sure Jeongin? You don't have to force yourself-” Seungmin asked, clearly concerned.

 

Jeongin wondered so himself. His heart was pounding and he felt as if he had just ran a marathon.

 

Even so, he nodded. He was tired of cowering behind his fear.

 

Once Seungmin reluctantly agreed to help watch over him, Jeongin took a deep breath and pricked the tip of his index finger.

 

He felt a small pain, but it wasn't the pain that bothered him.

 

Soon enough, a small drop of blood oozed out of the small cut. Jeongin gulped as he stared at the pinprick of red on his finger, trying to calm his heart down.

 

Letting out a big breath, he looked over to Seungmin who smiled at him encouragingly. Refocusing on the growing drop of blood, he willed it to move.

 

It cooperated a little, inching up slightly. Jeongin heard a gasp from his side but he was slowly losing control.

 

The small patch of red soon overwhelmed him as his mind dived back into his childhood.

 

Tears streamed down his face as he huddled in a corner of his room, trying to escape his father’s wrath. He knew what was to come and desperately wanted to avoid it.

 

His father was in a drunken rage again and was shouting and stomping around the house, looking for someone to take it out on.

 

Soon enough, he found Jeongin and hauled him up, the child whimpering and crying the whole way, struggling to get out of the violent man’s grip.

 

“Who asked you to run away from me, you little rat!” Spit splattered on Jeongin's face as his father proceeded to punch Jeongin square in the face.

 

Jeongin shook violently as he felt a warm, thick liquid slide down from his nose and he knew that his nose was broken.

 

Kicking and hitting the child, the man proceeded to hurl insults at Jeongin who could only curl into a ball and wish for it to be over.

 

Blood and tears splattered onto the floor and Jeongin dared not to defy his father.

 

At that point, Jeongin vaguely remembered a female voice shouting in retaliation.

 

His father directed his attention away from the small boy and refocused on his wife, who had returned home to find her husband in a drunken rage.

 

Jeongin lay there for a while, coming in and out of consciousness.

 

When his head cleared a little, he found his father still beating up his mother, screaming and yelling profanities at the other.

 

He crawled over slowly, his mother looking fearfully in his direction, always the one to put her child's safety before her own.

 

Jeongin clumsily grabbed onto his father's leg, which caused the older man to look sharply at his son. He gave a final blow to his wife, causing her to crumple to the ground.

 

Before his father could do anything, Jeongin felt the rush of blood in his father's leg and realised something: he could will it to move around.

 

Looking up at his snarling father, then at his mother who was lying limp on the floor, he decided something that would change his life.

 

He willed the blood to flow rapidly through the veins. He had had enough of his father's violent acts. Having tolerated and feared his father for all 5 years of his life, he felt that he had to do _something_ , _anything._

 

His father gaped at the boy as he coughed, blood spluttering from his mouth.

 

Seeing the blood flow out of his father's ears, Jeongin recoiled in horror, releasing his grip from his father's leg.

 

As soon as he let go, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him as his father fell face forward into the floor, a sickening crunch emitting when his face hit the floor.

 

Jeongin sobbed, blood, sweat and tears pooling and mixing together on the floor.

 

His small body shuddered with exhaustion as he heaved over to his mother's still form.

 

Grasping desperately at his mother's form, Jeongin grabbed handfuls of clothing as he pulled himself closer to his mother.

 

He put his hand over her heart to feel her heartbeat, but none came. His 5 year old mind could not compute that his mother was gone, so he continued to shake his mother, willing her to open her eyes.

 

He continued doing so even when dark spots swam around his eyes, his vision darkening by the second.

 

Just as he was losing consciousness, he heard the door open and felt someone lifting him away from his mother as he struggled weakly.

 

“He should be alright, he has multiple bruises and a little internal bleeding, but it seems that the cuts and bruises are older and may not have to do with this particular incident.”

 

Jeongin could vaguely hear the voices as he started to regain consciousness. He opened his eyes a little only to be blinded by bright lights.

 

He quickly shut them again as the two beside him stopped talking.

 

“Jeongin sweetie, are you awake?” One of them asked gently.

 

Jeongin rolled over a little and squinted, trying to get used to the light. Wait. How did this person know his name?

 

Jeongin's eyes shot open and he squinted more as he took in his surroundings.

 

He looked around the clean white room, before focusing on the two nurses standing beside his bed.

 

The smell of antiseptic hit him and only then did he realise the IV attached to his arm.

 

“Sweetie, how are you feeling? You've been out for almost 5 days with a high fever, so we were worries you wouldn't make it.”

 

“Where? Where's mom?” Jeongin started panicking as he noticed that his mother wasn't there.

 

“Your mother… she's not here with us.” One of the nurses looked at the other sadly before looking back at Jeongin.

 

“Tell you what, once you heal up, you can meet new people and they can become your new family, is that ok with you?”

 

Jeongin looked at the nurse, dumbfounded.

 

“What… what about my family?” Jeongin mumbled.

 

The nurses looked at each other and tried their best to explain when a doctor entered and the two hastily made their way out.

 

Jeongin was later told that his father had survived but Jeongin was to be put into foster care due to his father being unfit to raise a child.

 

Jeongin woke, covered in a cold sweat, his eyes tearing up.

 

“Jeongin! You're awake!” Jeongin startled a little before turning to see Seungmin sitting by his side.

 

“You just started shaking when you were trying to use your power. I tried to call Ms Park but she was busy and you suddenly fell unconscious. Are you really ok?” Seungmin asked fervently.

 

Jeongin nodded a little before leaning against the head of the bed.

 

He stared down at his finger, which was wrapped with a plaster as Seungmin sat there, looking at Jeongin, concerned.

 

“I want to try again.”  

  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn I've been procastinating a little too much.  
> Happy Lunar New Year to everyone who celebrates it!  
> Thanks for all the hits and kudos guys, it really means a lot to me ^^

“What?!” Woojin jumped a little as a loud shout was heard from behind one of the curtains. 

 

The loud person was quickly hushed by the other and they talked quietly. 

 

Woojin blinked before sighing and heading over to one of the partitions. 

 

Gently pushing the curtains open, he stepped into the small space and sat down on the chair beside the bed after pushing the curtain back close. 

 

“Hey Minho, how're you feeling?” Minho relaxed and opened his eyes to peer at the older. 

 

“Oh, it's just you. I thought it was a nurse or something.” Minho smiled weakly as he carefully pushed himself up on his elbows, not wanting to hurt his arm more. 

 

Woojin looked worriedly at the cast over Minho's left arm and helped him settle against the headrest. 

 

Arranging the pillows to make Minho more comfortable, Woojin sat back onto the chair as Minho settled on the pillows. 

 

“So, how are you feeling?” Woojin repeated. 

 

“I'm fine I guess, it doesn't really hurt anymore but it does get a little boring here.” Minho attempted to shrug. 

 

“When will you tell me what actually happened to your arm?” Woojin crossed his arms as he sat back into his chair, watching Minho ponder over something. 

 

“I told you, I just fell down the stairs, it's nothing much.” Minho rolled his eyes. 

 

“You know that isn't the case.” Woojin signed but Minho continued to shut his mouth, busying himself with his blankets. 

 

After a while, Woojin decided to drop the subject and looked around the small space. There already was a small stack of what Woojin presumed to be homework sitting on the bedside table. 

 

“Already got homework from your friend?” Woojin smiled, amused. 

 

“Nah, my teacher brought it up. By the way, could you help move all my stuff to my dorm later? It's a little hard to get everything myself.” Minho shrugged. 

 

“Sure, your room is on the second floor right?”

 

Minho nodded and was about to go on when the curtains drew open and someone stuck their face in.

 

Having identified his senior, Jisung grinned and stepped into the small area.

 

“Hey Woojin hyung! Chan wanted me to find you! He said that he needs you back at the club room for some music thing.” Jisung looked curiously at Minho when he was done relaying his message.

 

“Sure, tell him I'll be back in a bit.” Woojin smiled and ushered a unwilling Jisung out of the room.

 

Minho raised an eyebrow, “Your junior? Good to hear your club is getting more members.”

 

Woojin smiled softly and nodded, “Yeah, so far we got three juniors. Why don't you-”

 

“I don't want to join, Woojin. You can stop pestering me about it.” Minho interrupted. 

 

“Ok then, feel free to tell me if you change your mind.” Woojin smiled weakly, “I'll come back to help you at around 6pm, is that ok?”

 

Seeing the younger nod, Woojin bid his farewell and headed to the club room. 

 

The pair in the other room were still talking, and Woojin could clearly make out what the we're conversing about. Not that they were loud, Woojin’s power just happened to allow him to. 

 

“I  _ know _ . And I’m willing to take that risk, hyung.” The other let out an exasperated sigh and said firmly, “Yes, but  _ I’m  _ not willing to let you take that risk! Don’t you see what happened because of it? This isn’t just about trying, you’re hurting yourself in the process!”

 

Woojin felt a little bad for eavesdropping on their conversation and quickly left the room, the door letting out a ‘click’ as it closed behind him. 

 

He looked around and not seeing his cheery junior, concluding that the younger had gone off before him. Sighing, he blocked out all the sounds that were viciously attacking his ears and making his head hurt. It was usually quite natural for him to be able to block out the amplifications of senses his powers gave him, but seeing Minho in that state, combined with the ‘argument’ he overheard frayed his senses a little. 

 

He scrunched his nose up as he walked briskly away from the dining hall and focused again on stopping his power. The usually fragrant smells of the dining hall were now nauseating to him due to the power. He stopped for a while at the side of the hallway and focused on calming his heart and putting the nervous thoughts out of his mind. His body could naturally control his powers, but with the added stress, he needed to control it manually. Having done that, he took in a deep breath and continued walking, the pain from the amplified sights and sounds slowly fading away.

 

Woojin was still a little frayed when he reached the clubroom, but did well to hide it. He walked in with a small smile on his face and headed over to where Chan was sitting, humming as he stared at the monitor. The others were scattered around the room, Changbin and Jisung seemingly writing lyrics together, Hyunjin and Felix in a corner giggling over something on their tablet. The two looked up when Woojin entered the room and gave him wide smiles, earning one back from the older.

 

Woojin approached Chan and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Chan jumped a little but immediately relaxed when he turned to see who it was. 

 

“Oh hey Woojin, Jisung called you over?” Chan grinned as he took off his headphones. Jisung had perked up at the sound of his name and was looking over at the two before Chan waved him off. Woojin nodded, taking a seat next to Chan. 

 

“Ok, so I need you to record this part, this part and the chorus. You wrote the lyrics for here right?” Chan turned back to the monitor and pointed accordingly. Woojin nodded as he looked over the melody and lyrics of the part. He had written the lyrics for one to the verses so he knew that part well, but he had to listen to their other parts a little more. Chan gave him control over the computer and Woojin set off to work, first warming up his voice.

 

His warm-up caught the attention of the new members, who looked up to see what their senior was doing. Fixtated, they continued doing so until Woojin finished his warm-ups and looked around to see the others staring at him. The first years quickly turned back to what they were doing, earning a chuckle from Chan who had been watching the whole scene. 

 

Woojin just smiled and turned back to the computer, putting on the headphones. He set to work, playing and replaying the parts while singing along. 

 

When he felt ready enough, he turned to Chan who was doing some homework beside him. 

 

“Oh! Are you done?” Chan put down his pen on the messy table and stood up. 

 

Seeing Woojin nod, Chan grabbed his laptop and called out to the others. 

 

“Guys, we're moving to the recording studio! Bring whatever you need.”

 

The others piped up and the first years jumped up to pack their stuff while Changbin signed and slowly cleared away his things. 

 

The small group made their way to the recording studio, making quite the ruckus. 

 

Woojin's thoughts wandered back to Minho with his bandaged arm. Although Minho had acted indifferent and bored about the incident, Woojin could sense that he was hiding something. It seemed unlikely that he had really injured his arm by falling down, seeing that he was quite careful. 

 

Minho had also seemed a little agitated, even though he hid it pretty well. He was always glancing up to the curtains behind Woojin, as if waiting for someone to come in. Woojin could see the traces of fear in his eyes when Woojin or the nurse had entered the room, like he was scared of someone who was coming. 

 

Woojin let out a sigh as he trailed along behind the others, glad that none of them seemed to have noticed, giving him some space to think. He didn’t really know what to think about Minho’s situation, seeing as he didn’t want to share about what had really happened.

 

The group soon got to the recording studio, snapping Woojin out of his thoughts as the 6 of them squeezed into the small room. The first years were almost bouncing off the walls in excitement as they looked around the room in wonder. Chan merely smiled and set up his laptop on the front table, connecting it to the soundroom. 

 

Changbin got the first years settled on the chairs opposite as Woojin went over to the front with Chan. Chan started explaining all the equipment as Woojin got ready to record, going into the soundroom and adjusting the mic. He read through the lyrics once again as Chan and Changbin got ready in the other room, the first years still looking around in wonder. 

 

“Are you ready?” Chan’s voice called over through the headphones.

 

Woojin nodded and tried to relax as Chan nodded and started playing the music. Woojin tapped his fingers on his leg as he let out a deep breath. As the music flowed through the headphones, Woojin got ready and started singing when his part came up. 

 

He took about half an hour taking and retaking his parts. Once he was satisfied, he took off the headphones and head out of the room. Chan smiled at him as he entered the main room and Woojin shot one back. He sat down in a chair beside Hyunjin who was sleeping on Jisung’s shoulder.

 

Jisung smiled at Woojin as Woojin noticed the younger asleep. Woojin turned back and looked at the time and seeing that it was almost 5pm, he got up and informed Chan about his leave. 

 

“I need to go help my friend carry some of his stuff up to his dorm.” Chan nodded and went back to the recording, Woojin making his way out of the room, accidentally elbowing someone on the way. 

 

He apologized quietly and quickly let himself out of the room, taking a breath before heading up to the nurse’s office. 

 

He let out a sigh as he opened the door, entering the nurse’s office. He notices that it was relatively quiet and came to the conclusion that everyone was sleeping. He walked over to Minho’s small space and pulled open the curtains. 

 

He blinked and stared at the empty bed in front of him. 

 

‘Huh… I guess the nurse took him somewhere.’ Woojin shrugged and gathered all of Minho’s stuff, arranging the bag onto his back. As he walked out, he noticed the head nurse and walked up to the nurse. 

 

“Excuse me, may I know where the student who was resting there went?” Woojin  pointed over to where Minho had been resting. The nurse looked over to the room and thought for a while.

 

“Do you mean Lee Minho? He was called away by the principal a little earlier. Don’t worry, he’s doing quite well already.” The nurse smiled as Woojin thanked her before taking his leave. He headed up to the dorms, his arms full of books. 

 

‘What room was he in again?’ Woojin walked through the hallways as he looked around at the doors. He tried his luck and opened one of the doors he thought it was.

 

He was relieved to see the familiar face of Moonbin and Jungwoo as he entered the room. The two looked up when he opened the door, Moonbin at his table doing homework and Jungwoo just lying on his bed. 

 

“Oh hey Woojin hyung! What are you doing here?” Jungwoo smiled up to Woojin as he walked toward Minho’s bed. 

 

“Just dropping off some stuff of Minho’s. How are you guys doing?” Woojin smiled at the two as he dumped all the stuff onto Minho’s bed. He sat down heavily onto the bed, relaxing onto the soft fabric. 

 

“I’m fine, don’t know about Moonbin though.” Jungwoo grinned as Moonbin shot him a look. 

 

“I’m good too, just a little stressed about homework and stuff. It’s been a while since we talked, how’ve you been?” Moonbin smiled warmly, the contagious smile making Woojin grin back. 

 

“All’s well I guess. Ooh, did you know our club got 3 new members this year? I’m glad that our club is doing well now.” 

 

The three of them chatted and laughed as they talked about life in general. Woojin felt much better after catching up with his friends. 

 

The door opened and the three of them looked up to the door just to see Minho walking in. 

 

Woojin frowned as Minho stumbled into the room, quickly getting up to hold onto Minho. He led him over to the bed and Minho sat down heavily, clearly tired. 

 

“Are you ok, Minho? What happened just now?” Jungwoo got up from his bed and walked over, clearly concerned. Moonbin had also got up but Minho just motioned them to stop, giving a weak smile. 

 

“It’s nothing… I just feel a little tired. I’ll just take a little rest. Could you tell the teachers that I wouldn’t be going for classes tomorrow?” Minho sighed and sat back on his bed. 

 

Woojin helped clear the stuff off his bed and Jungwoo and Moonbin nodded, still looking concerned. Minho soon got comfortable in his bed and Woojin took his leave once he was sure everything was fine. 

 

‘What happened to him? He seemed relatively fine earlier, and the nurse said that he was doing great. What did the principal do just now? Or is it someone else. Man, what can I do to help him…’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo... just a summary of their powers if you can't keep track!  
> (honestly this is more for me I can't remember-, also I'll only be doing those I've alr introduced)  
> Chan: Telekinesis  
> Woojin: Superhuman Senses  
> Changbin:  
> Minho:  
> Hyunjin: Shape shifting  
> Jisung: Machinery  
> Seungmin: Electricty  
> Jeongin: Blood Manipulation
> 
> Sanha: Air Manipulation


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!!!  
> Thank you guys for all the hits and kudos!   
> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter.

Minho sighed as he slowly stumbled toward his dorm room. He was mentally and physically exhausted, his heavy cast not really helping. As he moved toward his dorm, some of the other students looked over, clearly concerned and offered to help, only to be met by a tired smile and a shake of Minho’s head. Minho blinked a few times, trying to focus to keep moving. 

 

As soon as he got to the door of his room, he felt faint, quickly yanking open his door and limping in, the door swinging close behind him. He was a little surprised to see Woojin in his room, and wondered why he was in his dorm room. Woojin, Jungwoo and Moonbin looked at him concerned as Woojin quickly got up to help Minho. Jungwoo and Moonbin both got up to help out, but Minho quickly smiled weakly and waved them off. 

 

Woojin led Minho to his bed and Minho sat heavily on his bed, his eyesight fading as he blinked rapidly. Jungwoo quickly went over to Minho and pushed him back onto the bed, tucking Minho in, still looking extremely concerned. Minho sighed again as he closed his eyes for a while, trying to stay awake. He felt his bed sink as someone sat to the right of him. 

 

A hand swept over his forehead, pushing Minho’s sweaty bangs away as he heard Moonbin humming a little song. 

 

“Go to sleep, Minho. You need it, don’t try to stay awake.” Moonbin whispered to Minho, letting Minho relax a little, accepting that he wouldn’t be able to stay awake for much longer. He let his consciousness slip, almost immediately falling into a feverish dream. 

 

“Minho! Get ready, we're going out soon!” Minho looked up from the TV show he had been watching and smiled at his mother. She smiled back, turning off the TV and grabbing on to Minho’s hand before bringing him back to his room. 

 

She picked out an outfit for him as he sat on his bed, playing with his favourite stuffed penguin. She left him to change by himself, seeing that he was confident to do so as the grown up 4 year old that he was. 

 

Once he was changed, he grabbed his penguin and headed back to the living room where his parents were waiting. They smiled at him and his father held onto his hand as they made their way to the car. 

 

The car ride was mostly uneventful, his parents talking while he played with his penguin. His parents were actually acting rather weird, turning back to look at their child ever so often with expressions of fear and doubt on their faces. Minho didn't realise this however and continued to play within his imagination. 

 

He didn't actually know where his parents were taking him but didn't think much of it. They soon reached their destination and Minho hopped off the car with his parents. He stared at the large building in wonder, wondering why they were here. 

 

He was led into a large lobby and looked around as his parents talked to the person at the counter. He climbed onto one of the large sofas around the room and relished in the soft cushions as he watched his parents. 

 

Minho recognised the sort of layout of the place as a hospital lobby and when his parents came to sit with him, he asked, “Why are we here? Is someone sick?”

 

His mother smiled and replied gently, “No one's sick, dear. We're just here to have a check up for you.”

 

Minho nodded and his father changed the topic, asking Minho about the cartoon he had been watching earlier. Minho started talking animatedly about the cartoon, his father listening and smiling as he conversed with his son. 

 

His mother was looking anxiously at the electronic boards hanging over the counter, waiting for their turn in the office. She has been suspicious that Minho had a power for quite some time, many unusual things happening around their household recently. She was unsure, not really knowing whether they were able to cope with having a gifted son. 

 

Soon enough, it was their turn and the small family headed to the doctor's office. 

 

The doctor was very friendly and greeted the family warmly. Minho sat on his father's lap, hugging onto his penguin tightly. 

 

“So, I hear that you're here today for a power test, am I right?” The doctor started, flipping through a few sheets of paper on his desk. 

 

Minho's mother nodded and the doctor continued. 

 

“I will need Minho to take a few tests to determine whether or not he does have powers, is that fine with you two?” Once again, Minho's parents nodded and the doctor started outlining the procedure of the test. 

 

“It is not 100% accurate, but it is the most accurate we have gotten by getting the kids to discover the powers themselves. They will be tired and a little on edge after it all, since it requires a lor of concentration and effort to discover and use their powers at such a young age. Most kids find out about their powers naturally, so it will be a strain.” Minho has tuned out most of the conversation, not really understanding or caring about what was going on. 

 

His parents nodded and asked various questions as the doctor explained. Soon enough, Minho got restless and his father let him go, telling him not to make too much fuss. Minho nodded, walking around the small office, the doctor offering him a Rubik's cube which he played with for the rest of the talk. 

 

After about half an hour, the doctor ushered Minho's parents out of the room, squatting down to Minho's height before saying, “I'll have to do a check-up on you, is that alright with you?” 

 

Minho nodded meekly and placed the Rubik's cube on the doctor's desk before following the doctor to another room in the clinic. 

 

There, he was instructed to sit down on a bed in the center of the room and the doctor sat across from him on a chair. 

 

The doctor smiled at him, trying to get Minho to relax and open up. Minho offered a grin back, promoting the doctor to start. 

 

“So, is there anything you like to do, Minho?” The doctor asked. 

 

Minho smiled and answered excitedly, “I like playing with my toys and imagining things! Sometimes I can make those things real!” The doctor smiled back and wrote some things down on the notepad on his lap before continuing. 

 

“Oh? What do you mean you can make them real?” 

 

“Sometimes when I'm playing, I imagine something and it becomes real! One time, I was imagining that there were animals and the animals became real! There was a giraffe and a tiger and a horse and, and!” Minho was excited and the doctor laughed, petting him on the head. 

 

“I see I see. It must've been fun!” Minho nodded happily, remembering that time. 

 

“Now, we're you by any chance feeling tired after you played?” 

 

“Hmmm… I did feel a little tired after it, but I always feel tired after playing!” The doctor nodded, his pencil moving furiously over the paper. 

 

“Could I ask you to show me those things?” The doctor asked slowly. 

 

Minho nodded and dived right into his imagination. He had been imagining a world revolving around the Rubik's cube he had been playing with earlier, and eagerly jumped back into his imagined world. His world was on multiple floating Rubik's cubes,  trees and flowers sprouting from the cracks. 

 

Cottages dotted the horizon with vast green fields in between and sheep and cows grazed the open fields. Everything had a particular cube shape, something similar to the popular game Craftmine. The doctor let out a gasp as he took in all the shapes and colours that appeared in front of him. Never before had he seen a child with such great powers. 

 

Minho grinned and chased after his stuffed penguin that was miraculously alive. The doctor watched after him, eyes wide. The boy's active imagination combined with his powers made it so that he could create a virtual reality wherever he went and he didn't seem at all tired by it. The doctor's expression hardened and he called out to the boy. 

 

“Minho! That's enough, you can stop now.” Minho looked up, his grubby hands grabbing a still penguin. As he made his way back to the doctor, the surroundings blended back into the white clinic, giving the doctor vertigo. 

 

Minho crawled back onto the bed he had been sitting on before giving a small yawn. The doctor waited for his vision to clear before clearing his throat and writing on his notepad. He slammed it shut and gave a warm smile to Minho, who smiled back sleepily. 

 

Slipping his notepad into his pocket, he gently picked Minho up, another yawn emitting from the boy. He walked out of the room to the lobby where Minho's parents were waiting. Leaving the sleepy Minho with the receptionist, he beckoned for the parents to head into the office. 

 

By the time his parents came out of the office with grave looks, Minho had already fallen asleep, the exhaustion from using his power extensively washing over him. 

 

His parents thanked the receptionist before waking Minho gently, Minho grabbing onto his mother’s hand while wiping his eyes sleepily. The two were somber and barely talked for the entirety of the car ride, Minho being the only one making occasional noises as he shifted in the back seat. 

 

As soon as they got home, they set Minho on his bed and locked themselves in their own bedroom for an extensive discussion.

 

That evening, they announced that the three of them would be going on a trip to Seoul, the heart of the city. Minho started jumping with excitement, scrambling to his room so that he could pack and get ready. His parents smiled wistfully at the sight before turning back to their own rooms to pack. 

 

The day after that, Minho excitedly rushed out of the house with his little backpack and his penguin locked in his arm. His mother had made sure to pack just a little extra for him, knowing full well what was in store for the little boy. After boarding the train to Seoul, Minho's parents settled in their seats while Minho ran up and down the length of the train, exploring everything the train had to offer. 

 

Once his father wrestled him back into his seat, Minho sat with his face pressed to the window, staring in wonder at all the sceneries flashing by. The family spent a fun day at Seoul, eating and shopping. Soon enough, Minho tried himself out and his mother picked him up, gently caressing his head. 

 

Minho gave a small yawn and made himself comfortable in his mother's arms. Seeing that Minho was asleep, his mother gave her husband a look. He nodded hesitantly and she set him down on a nearby bench. They had bought him another penguin stuffed toy earlier, and they set it down in his lap. Tearing up, Minho's mother kissed his forehead before whispering, “I'm so sorry, I love you.” 

 

Minho awoke to someone shaking him gently and he blinked, still a little tired. 

 

“Little boy, where are your parents?” The man who had shook him awake looked around, concerned. 

 

“Mom? Dad?” Minho shot up, eyes widening as he looked around. They were nowhere to be found. He almost toppled off the bench trying to get off and look for his parents. The man caught him, turning Minho to look at him. 

 

“Hey, do you have a phone number for your parents? I could call them and find them for you. Calm down a little.” Minho shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked around again, trying to catch a glimpse on his parents. Panic welled up in his throat, his stomach fluttering so much that he felt like throwing up. 

 

He stared at the man, not sure what he should do, not knowing what had actually happened. Why aren’t his parents here? Where did they go? Why-?

 

Minho shot up, pain shooting up his injured arm and causing him to wince. The room was dark and empty, the clock on the desk showing the time to be 7.23pm. The others had probably gone done for dinner. Minho sighed, holding his head in his uninjured arm. His head still hurt a little so he lay back in his bed. Why did he have to remember that? He hadn’t thought about that for a long time, his busy schedule keeping his mind off of it. Minho wiped away the tears that had built up while he was sleeping. He still hadn’t found out what had actually happened, and wasn’t sure he wanted to know. 

 

He lay there for a while, just staring at the ceiling while he contemplated his past. After a while, he gingerly pushed himself up before gathering his clothes. He figured a hot shower would clear this mind and he carefully wrapped up his cast so that it wouldn’t get wet. He let out a sigh as the hot water ran down his face. 

 

Why was he abandoned? 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update!!  
> I've been busy procastinating-  
> Thanks again for all the hits and kudos, and I hope you enjoy the story!

Changbin hummed under his breath as he arranged the papers on the desk into a pile. 

 

“Changbin! Hurry up, we're gonna be late for dinner!” Chan called from the door. 

 

Changbin merely grumbled and set down his papers before making his way out the door. Woojin had returned from wherever he had went when the group had just finished recording and had followed them back to the clubroom. He had seen a little worried and on edge, but refused to say anything about it, brushing it off as nothing. 

 

Changbin didn't really think much of it, everyone had their own private problems they didn't want to share, and Woojin was no exception. Changbin was barely out of the room before Felix clinged to his arm, chatting away happily. 

 

Changbin shot him a soft smile and gently tugged his arm away from his junior. Although he was fine with Felix, he didn't feel comfortable enough for physical contact. Heck, he knew Chan for almost 2 years and he just barely tolerates contact with him. He didn't really know how to interact with people, making him come off as cold and distant. 

Felix pouted a little but continued talking excitedly, Changbin nodding along. As he watched Felix bounce beside him, Changbin wondered how the others always had so much energy even at the end of the day. 

 

He tuned out what Felix was talking about, his thoughts wandering back to the music he had been working on earlier. There had been something bugging him about the chorus, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe he should ask Chan about it?”

 

“Hyung, are you even listening?” Changbin snapped out of his thoughts and he looked over at Felix, who was frowning at him. 

 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

 

“I knew it, you really should listen when someone is talking to you.” Felix huffed, clearly annoyed. 

 

Changbin nodded sheepishly, apologizing to Felix. Felix merely shrugged it off and continued talking about school. This time, Changbin made sure to listen to what he was saying so as not to get berated by the younger again. Chan turned back to ask Changbin something, but stopped mid sentence when he saw how absorbed Changbin was in his conversation with Felix. Changbin usually didn’t open up too easily and interact with others, so Chan was glad he had somewhat come out of his shell with Felix. Changbin looked up to see Chan grinning at him and glared back. Chan chuckled and turned back to his conversation with Jisung and Hyunjin. 

 

Soon enough, they got to the dining hall and went through with the usual farewells and heading over to their seats. Changbin took a seat beside his roommate, who shot him a smile before resuming his conversation with his friend. Changbin nodded in acknowledgement and sighed in irritation as he saw a familiar figure coming his way. 

 

“Hey Changbin, how are you doing today?” Jason shot Changbin a grin. Changbin just glared at him before returning his attention to the food in front of him. 

 

“Aww come on, don’t ignore me like that. We’re friends aren’t we?” Jason looped an arm around Changbin’s shoulders. 

 

“So, how about lending me your notes for Math? I know how well you do for Math, you can go without it for a day or two.” Changbin pushed Jason’s arm off his shoulder.

 

“Stop bothering me, you can make your own notes.” Jason’s grin turned to a scowl as he leaned in closer to Changbin’s face. 

 

“Just give me your notes, you coward, you don’t even need it.” He spat out. 

 

Changbin let out a tired sigh and looked straight into Jason’s eyes. 

 

“Go back to your seat and stop bothering me tonight.” 

 

“I-I will go back to my seat and stop bothering you.” Jason’s eyes clouded over and he blinked before moving back to his seat. Changbin kept an eye on him before releasing a breath and rubbing his temple. 

 

“You ok? I don’t know why he’s so persistent.” Minhyuk looked over at Changbin in worry. 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wish I don’t have to use my powers on him so often. It’s pretty draining.” Changbin smiled weakly at his roommate before nibbling on some food. Now that that was out of the way, he could focus on more important things. He tapped his fingers on the table as he tuned out the background noise. He hummed the tune he had come up with under his breath, trying to figure out what it was that sounded wrong. 

 

He sat there mulling over his thoughts until Minhyuk got up to leave and motioned to Changbin that it wa time to go. The two walked in a comfortable silence back to their dorm room, Minhyuk humming a familiar tune under his breath. 

 

“Hey, what song is that?” The familiarity of the tune was bugging Changbin and he couldn’t help but ask. 

 

“Oh, it’s the song my group is dancing to. If I’m not wrong, Jinwoo hyung got it from Chan hyung.” Minhyuk smiled. 

 

No wonder it had sounded familiar. If it was something Chan had produced, Changbin had probably heard it once or twice when Chan had asked him for is opinion. It had probably been one of the extra tracks Chan had produced. 

 

Upon returning to their dorm room, they were greeted by their hyperactive roommate who had was lounging on Changbin’s bed, which irritated him slightly. 

 

“Oh hey, you two!” Lucas grinned as he got up and tackled Minhyuk with a bear hug. Changbin avoided him, darting around the two to get his clothes and take a shower. He was soon settled at his desk with papers all around him as he attempted to do homework, his focus waning as he stared at the words and papers before him. By the time he was done with most of his homework, he was constantly falling asleep and snapping awake again. 

 

He sighed and got up, stretching before heading over to his bed. 

 

“You’re already going to sleep?” Changbin yawned as he nodded toward Lucas.

 

“Huh, that’s weird, it’s still quite early ain’t it? You haven’t even made any music yet.” Lucas raised an eyebrow.

 

“I don’t know, I just feel really sleepy. If you need help for homework, just ask Minhyuk.” Changbin sighed and fell back onto his bed.

 

“Mmkay, sleep well.” Changbin smiled softly and rolled over in his bed, soon falling asleep to the sounds of water running and Lucas humming some song. 

 

He awoke to a blinding light and a tight feeling in his limbs. He squinted and turned his head to escape the light shining in his eyes. He blinked a few times to rid of the black spots that formed in his eyes and looked around in confusion. Where was he? The room was dark and he could barely make out various objects around the room.

 

He seemed to be on a metal table of sorts, the coolness seeping through his thin shirt. He tried to get up, only to be attempt foiled when he was jerked back onto the table, his head hitting the table with a bit too much force. He grimaced and looked down to his hands where metal shackles held down his arms. 

 

“Wha-” Changbin yelped, struggling to get out of his bounds. 

 

“It seems you’re awake. That’s good, we can start quicker this time.” A voice from behind him sounded out. Changbin jumped and tried to turn to see who it was. 

“You can’t turn around like that, why even try?” The person seemed amused and pat Changbin on the shoulder. Changbin jerked away from his touch, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he searched the room with his eyes for anything that could help him get out. 

 

“Those shackles are pretty strong, so I don’t think you can get out of here by yourself. You can stop trying now.” The person was a little more stern this time, pushing down Changbin’s arm. Since he had moved over to Changbin’s side, Changbin could just about see the figure looming over him. 

 

Changbin cursed under his breath as he stared at the masked figure in a doctor’s coat. The man was of a tall and lanky build, his hair pulled back under a net with a mask covering the lower half of his face. 

 

Cold eyes stared at Changbin as the man twirled a pen in his hand. A door at the far end of the room opened suddenly, a bright light momentarily flooding into the room. This allowed Changbin a few seconds to take in his surroundings before the door shut, the lock clicking into place and he was once again shadowed in darkness. 

 

During those few seconds, he observed that the various objects he couldn't make out earlier were various machines that he hadn't seen before. A quick glance at the table beside him revealed the shiny metal blades a syringes sitting on it. 

 

Changbin squirmed away from the table, horrified. 

 

The man beside the bed shot a glance at the other who entered and clicked his tongue. 

 

“You're late, Brian. You know how the boss feels about that.” Brian just nodded timidly as he shifted a few objects before the door and walked toward the other side of the table. 

 

“I’m sorry, I had to sort something out.” Brian stared down at his hands while the other man sighed and motioned something to Brian. 

 

“Well then, let’s get started. Just to inform you, we injected something in you earlier so I recommend you not to use your powers recklessly unless you want to feel like you got shot in the leg. I would ask for your cooperation, but that’s wholly up to you. If you don’t feel like cooperating, I’ll just force you to.” The man grinned as he picked up a syringe from the tray. 

Changbin looked at the clear liquid in the syringe and furrowed his eyebrows at the man, not really sure what he was supposed to do. He had calmed down considerably from when he first woke up, and had decided that listening to the man was the safest way to get out of the place. Besides, he couldn’t be too far from school, so just cooperating was the easiest way to get back to his normal life. He turned to face Brian and stared into his eyes, willing him to walk to the door. This was met with a shot of pain in his head, causing him to wince and stop. What the man had said had been true. 

 

“Well then, let’s start. I’m going to inject this into you, so please stay still.” The man rolled up Changbin’s sleeve, causing him to flinch away. He let out a breath as he looked away from the needle that punctured his arm, a small sting making him breath in abruptly. 

 

The man handed the empty syringe to Brian, who set it down on a metal tray at another part of the room. Changbin sat there for a while, wondering what was supposed to happen when a blinding pain exploded in his head. He gasped and grabbed his head, squeezing his eyes shut as tears welled up and fell onto his pants. 

 

He took in deep breaths as he tried to blink out the black spots forming in his eyes, the pain overwhelming and numbing his senses. He could barely register the man speaking, the pain clouding his brain. 

 

The pain subsided a little when a cold cloth was placed over his forehead, Brian looking down at him with a pained expression. 

 

In between the flurry of warnings of the pain shooting through his brain, he thought out two simple words while staring into Brian’s eyes. Help… me.

 

Brian froze, his whole body shuddering as he moved to try and unlock Changbin’s shackles, the key gleaming in the light. 

 

The man noticed and quickly grabbed Brian’s hand to stop him, but Brian still pushed his hand toward the keyhole of the shackles, the key inching toward it as Brian used all his force to push it. 

 

The man grunted and snatched the key out of Brian’s hand before slapping him hard in the face, which seemed to sober him up. 

 

Changbin could only blink the tears out of his eyes as he watched the scene before him, the pain making him incapable of forming any cohesive thoughts. His vision was fading quickly as he watched the man command something to Brian, the younger quickly placing a scalpel into the man’s outstretched hand. 

 

Before Changbin blacked out from the pain, he saw the small blade approaching him before a final shot of pain forced his mind to shut down. 

 

Changbin awoke gasping, sweat trailing down his face as he sat up in bed. What just happened? He had the feeling that something had happened, but couldn’t quite remember what it was that bothered him. 

 

He furrowed his brow and struggled to grasp onto the fleeting memories. 

Was that a dream? Changbin sighed and scratched his head before turning to look at the clock. 

 

Seeing that it was almost the time to wake up, he shrugged and stretched before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello yalls!  
> Sorry for updating late (again) :')  
> Thanks for all the hits and kudos and I hope y'all enjoy the story~

“Jisung…” Jisung hummed in response, still staring straight at the computer screen and playing back a track he was working on. 

 

He tensed as someone hugged him from behind but relaxed when he saw a sleepy Hyunjin squinting at the bright light of the computer. 

 

“Why are you still up? It's almost midnight.” Hyunjin let out a small yawn and muttered into Jisung’s shoulder. 

 

Jisung gave Hyunjin a tired smile and patted his hands. 

 

“I'm just fixing up a part of the song, why don't you go sleep first?” Hyunjin sighed and nodded, hugging Jisung again before heading over to his bed. Jisung smiled in his direction before returning his attention to the software on his computer. 

 

He continued working on it and tweaked a few parts that he had completed earlier. By the time he looked at the time again, it was already late into the night. He sighed and saved his work before shutting down his computer. Yawning, he stretched before going to the toilet to wash up.

 

After he was done, he returned back to his bed and crawled under his covers, ready to settle in for the night. He yawned and checked his phone once more before getting comfortable in his bed. 

 

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but found that he was wide awake. After about half an hour of trying to sleep, he sighed and opened his eyes. Both Sanha and Hyunjin were fast asleep, small sounds emitting from them as they moved around in their sleep. 

 

He turned over and closed his eyes again, trying to catch up on some sleep. He let out a deep breath and perked up when he heard footsteps outside the door. He sat up quietly and stared at the door, debating whether or not to check it out.

 

‘It might be something to do with that experiment thing going on. Then again, if I get caught, who knows what will happen to me…’ He sat there for a while before making up his mind and carefully getting out of bed. 

 

He padded to the door and looked under it to see if anyone was in the hallway. Seeing no one, he sat back and creaked the door open slightly. He closed his eyes and concentrated, seeing if he could hear any sounds coming from the other rooms. Just as he heard something, one of the doors down the hall opened, causing him to jump back quickly, closing the door as gently as he could in his panicked state. 

 

Hearing footsteps approaching the door, he dived back into his bed and tried to calm his heart, breathing deeply and forcing himself to relax. After the footsteps faded somewhat, Jisung tiptoed back to the door and opened it slightly, a sliver of light entering and illuminating part of the room. 

 

Putting his eye to the opening, he watched as someone carried a familiar figure off into the darkness. Jisung squinted, trying to make out why the figure looked so familiar. 

 

Jisung looked around as best as he could before cautiously pushing the door open wide enough for him to slip through. He took a deep breath, closing the door behind him as he looked around the hall. 

 

A faint light came in from the window at the end of the hall, the door numbers barely visible in the light. Jisung squinted a little and headed the way he saw the man walk earlier. 

 

He padded down the hallway, squinting as his slippers slapped at the wooden floors. As he walked, less and less light illuminated the way, the darkness seemingly swallowing everything in its path. 

 

Jisung started to regret his decision of following the man, dread creeping into his heart as he caught sight of the man descending down a flight of stairs. 

 

'Maybe I should turn back? Then again, I've come so far already, might as well find out what's happening…’ Jisung followed the man with his eyes. 

 

‘I have to make a decision before I lose him…’ Jisung felt like crying, his gut telling him to run. 

 

Jisung didn't have to make a decision as a hand shot out from the darkness behind him, covering his mouth and nose with a cloth. 

 

Jisung shouted, his voice muffled by the cloth held to his face. He gasped, a sweet smell invading his nose as he tried to break free of the man's grasp. He struggled helplessly, his sight fading out as he pushed weakly against the man’s arms. 

 

He let out a shaky breath as his body relaxed, the man letting him fall to the ground. The last thing Jisung saw before he blacked out was the man’s masked face as he lifted him off the ground. 

 

He awoke to a darkened room, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He tried to get out of chair, the force causing him and the chair to topple to the floor. 

 

He panicked, closing his eyes as he fell face first to the floor, bracing himself for the impact. Before his face contacted the floor, strong hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him back into balance. 

 

“Th-thank you” Jisung turned to look at the man who moved in front of him. 

 

Jisung studied the man's features, his jet black hair, his fox-like eyes, his slightly chubby cheeks. He looked concerned, his eyebrows drawn together. 

 

“I'm sorry about this, it seems Jeff caught you outside your dorm room earlier. I just need to run some tests and I'll bring you back to your room. It may hurt a little, but don't worry too much.” The man gave a sad smile. 

 

'Jeff? Isn't that the name of the guy who was in my room when Sanha was missing? That means this guy is… Brian?’ Jisung stared at the man intently as he busied himself with a tray of metal instruments on a table beside Jisung. 

 

After observing him for a while, Jisung gathered his confidence and spoke up, “Your name is Brian right?” The man froze and stopped what he was doing, a syringe in his hand. 

 

“Wha- how do you know?” Brian sputtered and nearly dropped his syringe. He then seemed to come to his senses and almost slapped himself. 

 

It would have been funny if not for the situation he was in. 

 

Jisung merely shrugged and continued to stare at the older man. Brian sighed and tightened his grip on the syringe before moving closer to Jisung. 

 

“Han Jisung… damn it, Jeff. Why'd you have to talk so loudly.” Brian cursed under his breath, seemingly putting together the pieces. Jisung stared at the sharp needle of the syringe and involuntarily sank back into his chair. 

 

Brian shot Jisung another concerned look before murmuring, “I'm gonna inject this into you now. Don't move if you don't want to get hurt.” 

 

Jisung merely watched, a trail of cold sweat running down his back as the needle got closer to his arm.

 

A voice sounded from another room, the words muffled. This made Brian flinch a little before hurriedly inserting the needle into Jisung's arm, the younger yelping a little at the pain. 

 

Jisung gasped as a cool feeling washed over his body and he sighed as his body went limp. Brian put down the now empty syringe and picked up another syringe with a white liquid. Jisung winced a little as the needle pierced through his skin above the first injection. 

 

'What…’ Jisung's head felt cloudy, his senses muffled. He slumped down in his chair, barely feeling as Brian untied him from his chair and picked him up. 

 

He breathed out gently, his head hanging over Brian's shoulder. Brian shot Jisung one last look before making his way out of the room. By then, Jisung was slipping in and out of consciousness, his eyes drooping. 

 

“Have a good sleep.” Jisung wasn't sure if he was imagining the soft voice, but the movement of Brian's mouth said otherwise.

 

'Sleep?’ Jisung stared down at Brian's shirt before sighing and letting his head rest on Brian's shoulder, his eyes closing. 

 

Jisung slipped into a dream, his mind hazy and blur. 

 

‘What… is this a dream?’ Jisung looked around at the dark space he was in. White characters were inscribed in the walls, seemingly glowing in the darkness.

 

Jisung walked up to one of the walls and placed his hand on it, tracing the characters. They weren't in English, nor in Korean, or in any language he had seen before.

 

Jisung furrowed his brows, looking more closely at the characters. Seeing that he couldn't decode the language, he sighed and took a step back, turning to see how big the space was. 

 

As he stared in wonder at the seemingly endless space, he heard a faint whistle and turned his head. 

 

A man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and whistled as he walked toward the wall with a bucket in his hand. Jisung jumped and stared at the man, dressed in a janitor's uniform. 

 

The man cheerfully whistled as he pulled out a brush and dipped it into the bucket that Jisung saw held black paint. 

 

Jisung merely stared as the man started slathering the black paint all over the wall, the white characters disappearing under the paint that dried immediately after it was applied.

 

As he watched, his ears started ringing, making him wince and cup his ears. He squinted as the ringing got louder, soon becoming unberable.

 

He gasped and woke up, the ringing coming from the alarm clock beside his bed. He groaned and reached over to stop the ringing before sitting in his bed for a while.

 

“Morning Jisung~ ” Jisung hummed in response, stretching in his bed.

 

“Sanha's in the bathroom right now, he should be done soon.” Hyunjin called over his shoukder as he stuffed books and papers into his bag.

 

Jisung nodded again before stifling a yawn. 

 

“So,” Hyunjin bounced onto Jisung's bed, “how did your song go? Don't tell me you slept at 2.”

 

Jisung blinked and tried to think about what he did the night before, his search coming to nothing.

 

“I was producing?” Jisung furrowed his eyebrows and Hyunjin made the same face back.

 

“You were really serious about it too. You can't remember?” Jisung shook his head, still trying to search his mind for memories of the night before.

 

“Maybe you're just tired. But this is weird though, how do you forget about something that just happened?” Hyunjin sighed.

 

Jisung shrugged before heading to his desk and turning on his laptop. He pulled out a file and played the song he had been working on. 

 

‘I finished the song?’ Jisung scrunched his eyebrows at the long bar that sat on the screen. He played the song and got comfortable on the chair, Hyunjin also turning to look. 

 

“That sounds good,” Hyunjin sighed happily as the song came to an end. Jisung nodded absently, his mind a flurry of thoughts. Why couldn't he remember that he made the last part of the song?

 

At that point, Sanha lazily strolled out of the bathroom and nodded at Jisung before diving onto his bed. Jisung grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to get ready. He had a feeling that something exciting had happened last night, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. 

 

'Whatever, it doesn't really matter does it…’ 

 

“Jisung, hurry up! We're going to be late!” Sanha shouted from behind the door. 

 

Jisung rolled his eyes and shouted back, “And who's fault is that?”

 

He quickly out on his uniform and splashed more water onto his face before leaving the bathroom. 

 

“Here I packed your bag for you.” Hyunjin shoved Jisung's bag to him and they took off for the dining hall. 

 

The hall was already filled with students, everyone chatting with their friends as they waited for the principal to start his speech. 

 

Jisung took a seat just as the principal began talking, staring hungrily at all the food on the table. 

 

As the principal announced that they were allowed to eat, Jisung turned to Hyunjin to say something. At that moment, a thought rolled over everyone and they immediately stopped talking. 

 

“Shut up.” The thought was ingrained in Jisung's brain as he blinked at the silence in the hall, totally opposite from what was the norm. His voice had seemed to stop itself and though he tried to make a sound, it didn't work. 

 

Everyone turned left and right to figure out who it was that did it, and soon the answer was known. Just as Jisung made a small sound, someone from across the hall yelled out. 

 

“Ch-Changbin!” Jisung almost jumped out of his seat at the volume of the shout and turned to look at where his senior was usually situated. 

 

Changbin was slumped onto the table, his breathing labored. A few teachers rushed up to the table and helped his friend carry him. Jisung wanted to run to help, but Hyunjin pulled him down, saying that the teachers had it covered. 

 

Once Changbin had been carried off, the dining hall was filled with low murmurs as the students overcame their shock. 

 

‘What in the world just happened?’

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Sorry for being a little late, I had tests this week and also had a bit of a block.   
> Thanks again for all the hits and kudos!!  
> (And wow, we've already hit 2.5k hits!! Thank ya'll so much)  
> Hope you guys enjoy the story~

Chan pushed open the door to the nurse's office gently, not wanting to disturb anyone resting. He let the door swing close behind him, heading straight for one of the curtained spaces. He hesitated a while as his hand hovered over the curtain, hearing a voice from behind the curtain. 

 

Pulling open the curtain, Chan poked his head into the temporary room. Someone Chan recognised as Changbin’s roommate Lucas turned to look at him, Changbin doing the same. 

 

“Hey, Changbin. I just wanted to see if you were fine.” Chan stepped into the room, nodding to Lucas in greeting. 

 

Changbin smiled softly and nodded, watching as Chan took a seat in another chair. 

 

“I’m fine, I guess. I don’t really know what happened just now, I just kinda blacked out earlier.” Chan nodded, looking worriedly at Changbin’s haggard face. 

 

Lucas suddenly exclaimed and stood up, a hurried, “Sorry Binnie, I got to go. I forgot I had to meet my senior earlier!” barely leaving him mouth before he rushed out of the room, a nurse scolding him on the way out. 

 

Chan smiled a little before looking back at Changbin, who smiled back. Chan was glad that Changbin had such a great friend, he was usually very solitary and Chan had rarely seen him smile so much before. 

 

“Glad to know you get along well with your roommate.” Chan grinned at Changbin, who just rolled his eyes. 

 

“Don't look at me like that. You're not my dad so stop looking so proud.” Changbin grumbled, sinking more into his bed. 

 

“Sure sure,” Chan continued grinning. 

 

“So, what did you come here to do?” Changbin sighed. 

 

“Hmm? I just came to check on you. What you did this morning… that must have taken up a lot of energy, huh.” Changbin grimaced at that. 

 

“I don't know what happened, I was just minding my own business, eating my waffles when a sudden surge of power went through me. I couldn't control it, and it hurt to say the least.”

 

Chan furrowed his eyebrows, “Do you know what could have caused that?” 

 

Changbin thought about it for a while before sighing and shaking his head, “From what I know, nothing special happened. That's weird…”

 

Chan hummed and sat back into the chair, mulling over his thoughts. He had observed these kinds of things happened over his 4 years of school in Dongryeok, but he still had no idea what was actually happening. In the past month, there had been the first year from Jisung’s class, the 3rd year in 3-1 and now Changbin. What was going on?

 

“Chan? Are you listening to me?” Chan nodded absently, looking up at Changbin when he let out a huge sigh. 

 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you? You’ve just sat there brooding for over a minute already. It’s starting to get creepy.” Chan just stared incredulously at his junior.

 

“Wow, what a way to treat your senior. I’m going to remember that.” Chan hit Changbin playfully, making the latter roll his eyes again. 

 

“Anyways, don’t we have club today? Don’t you have to go?” Changbin made himself more comfortable in the bed. 

 

Chan smiled softly and replied, “Well yeah, but your health is of a greater importance to me. I was just planning to check on you but since you’re awake and all, I’ll just keep you company until you can go.” 

 

Changbin seemed a little taken aback by his serious answer and turned away, mumbling some thanks under his breath. Chan’s smile widened at this and he patted Changbin’s hand reassuringly. 

 

“By the way, how long  _ do _ you have to stay here?” 

 

“I don’t really know. The nurse said she would come check on me at around 2 and let me go if I’m fine, which I think I am.” Changbin trailed off as he looked to the clock on the wall. 

 

“I see I see, well you should rest for a bit, just in case something happens.” Chan smiled.

 

Changbin complied, laying down on the bed and facing away from Chan, mumbling that it was embarrassing. After checking that Changbin had closed his eyes to rest, Chan returned to his seat by the bed, humming under his breath as he thought over what had happened. 

 

It didn’t seem that Changbin was affected in the long term, so whatever happened to him only had short-term effects. Was it something that happened recently that triggered it? From when Chan saw him, Changbin had been acting normally so it couldn’t be something that Changbin noticed. What was it… 

 

Something hit Chan like a ton of bricks, his eyes widening in realization. Woojin had told him about the voices headed to Jisung’s room, and that day Jisung’s roommate had lost control. The people talking probably did something with the students, but what? They ran a risk of getting caught if the other roommates woke up. Maybe they brought the students away? Chan ran his hand through his hair as he stared into space, trying to piece the puzzle together. 

 

Should he tell Changbin all this? I mean, he  _ could  _ trust Changbin to keep the secret right? He'd kept his suspicions only between himself and Woojin and they haven't gotten very far with cracking the code. Maybe more heads could speed up their 'investigation'?

 

He hadn’t noticed the passage of time and was jerked out of his thoughts when the curtain beside him was whisked open. He jumped up and turned to see a nurse entering the space before shooting Chan a tired smile. 

 

“Hello there, I just need to check up on your friend and he can go if he’s fine. You can stay there.” Chan nodded and sat back down on his chair, watching as the nurse woke Changbin up and checked his vitals. Once she determined that he was fine medically, she pat his back and told him he could go. Changbin sat up in his bed and stretched before getting out and patting down his uniform which had become crumpled by his time in bed. 

 

Changbin walked out of the room after thanking the nurse, Chan doing the same and following behind his junior. 

 

“Hey, Changbin.” The younger turned to look at Chan, tilting his head slightly. 

 

“I have something to tell you.”

 

Chan watched as Changbin sat back on the chair, the drink in front of him untouched. Changbin closed his eyes, trying to take in everything Chan had just thrown at him.  

 

Chan watched Changbin expectantly, stirring his drink nervously with his straw. 

 

“So, what you’re saying that you suspect that something happened to me yesterday and that caused me to lose control of my powers. And that this something was someone or some people have been doing something to students during the night. You’re theorizing that they are taking the students somewhere and have done something to enhance our powers albeit temporarily.” Changbin sighed, keeping his voice low. 

 

Chan nodded grimly and leaned closer to Changbin. 

 

“Could you tell me what happened during breakfast? You said it hurt right?” 

 

“Oh it hurt  _ a lot _ . My head felt like it was going to explode. I could barely see through the black spots forming cause of the pain. I knew that the mind control was behind all the pain but I couldn’t stop the power. My powers went on for only a few seconds, as you know, but that pain was enough to knock me out.” Changbin shuddered at the thought, staring at his drink. 

 

Chan nodded thoughtfully as he sipped at his coffee, his brows furrowed as he theorized some more. The students who were taken by the people were probably doing something to enhance the student’s powers, but why would they want it to hurt them? 

 

Changbin took a gulp of his drink before sighing again as he rubbed his temples. 

 

“By the way, does this mean that everything is going on  _ within _ the school? That means that there’s a hidden room or rooms somewhere in the school right? I mean, if they’re taking students away at night, they can’t take us too far away.” Chan nodded in agreement. 

 

After a while, Chan sighed and said, “Well let’s just put this behind us for a while. It’s a bit too much to think about all at once. Why don’t we take a walk before heading back to school? We have about 2 hours before dinner.” 

 

Changbin gave him a weak smile and nodded, grabbing his drink with him as they got up and left the cafe. They were at the nearby town a few minutes away from the school, where most students went for relaxation and some fun. 

 

Chan took a deep breath of the fresh air as he headed out of the cafe, taking in the view of students talking and laughing as they walked down the street with their friends, enjoying their time together. He looked on longingly, sighing as he followed Changbin down the street. 

 

The street was choked full of various shops: a bookshop, several cafes and restaurants, a karaoke room, an arcade, various clothing stores and a splattering of convenience stores. The two wandered the streets of the town, engaging in small talk as they looked around the familiar place. They came to the park and sat on a bench, Chan sighing happily as he plopped down onto the seat. 

 

“It’s been a while since I came here with school and everything. It’s nice to be able to get out of school.” Changbin nodded as he stared into the trees. 

 

“Hey, maybe we should come down here with the kids sometime. It would be a good time to bond.” Chan looked over at Changbin.

 

“I feel like I haven’t talked to you in a while. Today was really fun, I hope you thought so too.” Changbin turned at this, his eyes widened. 

 

Chan grinned, “I know everything I told you just now wasn’t quite fun, but I enjoyed spending time with you. We should do this more often! Man, I feel like I’m talking to myself.” 

 

Changbin let out a laugh at this, replying, “I kinda enjoyed the time too. It was kind of stressful, but it has been quite a long time since we actually talked. Thanks for telling me all that earlier, though. I’ve been suspecting something the whole time but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Your theory was really quite plausible. I’ll tell you if I hear anything else.” 

 

Chan nodded and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Chan checked the time and got up to leave, motioning for Changbin to follow him. The two walked back to the school with the other students, talking and laughing. 

 

They ran into the hall with a minute to spare, grinning at each other before heading to their respective tables. 

 

“Hey Chan, how’s Changbin?” Woojin smiled as Chan took his seat, out of breath having ran when they realised they were going to be late. 

 

“He’s fine now, by the way, I told him about the voices, hope you don’t mind.” Woojin was a little shocked at this but smiled soon after. 

 

“Of course I’m fine with it. We’ve known him for so long already and we know he can be trusted. Honestly I was wondering when you were going to tell him.” Chan smiled, relieved. 

 

They continued chatting as the principal gave his address and started the dinner. Everyone dug into their food and the hall soon quietened down a little as everyone absorbed themselves in their food. As Chan gobbled down his pizza, a thought struck him and he turned to Woojin. 

 

“Hey, have you ever wondered why we have to have dinner in school?”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!   
> I've kinda had a writer's block for a while now so I'm really sorry if the chapters are getting a little draggy.   
> Thanks for all the hits and kudos, and hope y'all enjoy the story!

“Hey, have you ever wondered why we have to have dinner in school?”

 

Woojin looked up from his food and shot Chan a questioning look. 

 

Swallowing his food, he replied, “No, not really. Why?”

 

Chan picked at his food, frowning. “I was just wondering… We're never allowed to stay out of school at night or even have dinner at the town. Since we can go to town to grab breakfast, why can't we do that for dinner? It just seems kinda weird.”

 

“You don't think it's linked?” Woojin lowered his voice. 

 

Chan shrugged, still picking at his food. 

 

“Hmm… maybe they don't want students coming back really late and finding out about what's happening? That makes sense right?” 

 

“True, but that doesn't explain the dinner thing? Who eats dinner until midnight?” 

 

Woojin sighed, having not been prepared to be bombarded with questions. 

 

“Hey, there was a time someone skipped dinner though,” Chan raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue. “My friend Minho… something had happened to him, he won't say what, but we let him rest in his dorm during dinner. No one went searching for him, so maybe we're just not allowed to have dinner outside, but we can skip dinner.”

 

Chan did not look fully satisfied, but dropped the subject and went on to blabber on about something or other. 

 

“Oh yeah, Mr Lee told me to meet him later, something to do with the club. Would you mind if you went? I'm a little busy and I don't think I can make it.” Woojin agreed, not really having anything to do that evening.

 

“Thanks man. He said to meet him at his music room at around 7.30.” Chan sighed and smiled at Woojin.

 

Dinner went by without much incident and the two parted ways at the door, Chan heading for his dorm room and Woojin headed for the music room.

 

When he got to the music room, he hesitated a little, hearing the sounds of a guitar emitting from the room. Once he heard the strumming pause, he knocked on the door and waited as he heard the person inside shuffle around and open the door. He was met with a young man, his fox-like eyes looking at him curiously. 

“Yes? Do you need something?” The young man smiled unsurely at Woojin.

 

“Mr Lee told me to meet him here? About something regarding the music production club.” The man raised an eyebrow and nodded, letting Woojin into the room. The room was mostly used as a personal studio for the head music teacher, Mr Lee. It was neat with notes and papers put away in a bookshelf leaning against one of the walls, a drastic contrast to the messy club room. Woojin took a seat on the couch in the room and looked around.

 

He hadn’t been in the room before, only catching glimpses when they called on Mr Lee. A large monitor stood on the table at one side of the room, a keyboard standing next to it. The bookshelf was filled with books and folders, with the occasional stray piece of paper resting on the shelf. The room also housed a row of guitars Mr Lee would sometimes lend students, one of which the young man was strumming as he hummed a tune. 

 

Woojin turned his attention the young man and watched as he strummed a few more chords before stopping and turning to look at Woojin. 

 

“Do you need something? I feel a little uncomfortable with you staring at me like that.” He smiled awkwardly and Woojin let out a laugh.

 

“It’s nothing, I was just wondering who you were? Are you a teacher here? I haven’t seen you around before.” 

 

“I’m more of a trainee teacher? I’m new to the job, been mostly doing music before this. I’m attached to Mr Lee to learn the ropes since I have no experience with teaching. Oh, just all me Mr Kang.” Woojin smiled and nodded. 

 

Mr Kang smiled back and leaned back in his chair before they relapsed into an awkward silence, Woojin once again looking around the room and Mr Kang plucking at the strings. 

 

The young man sighed and started playing a song, singing softly to it. Woojin perked up at this and stared at him, the smooth voice calming him and making him relax in his seat. Mr Kang seemed aware of the younger’s stares and turned to talk to him again when the door creaked open and Mr Lee came in, coffee in hand. 

 

“Oh, you’re here. Where’s Chan?” He nodded toward Mr Kang and turned to Woojin. 

 

“He said he was busy and asked me to come instead. Is that not ok?” Mr Lee shook his head and took his seat before the table. 

 

“It’s nothing much, I just need to update the information for the club. You guys recruited 3 new club members right? Just tell me everyone’s names and classes and I’ll check against the list.” Mr Lee pulled out a file from the bookshelf and flipped through it. 

Woojin nodded and started listing off everyone’s information. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Mr Kang seemed to stiffen when he said Changbin and Jisung’s names but dismissed it as his own imagination. Once he was done, Mr Lee nodded and closed the file before turning back to Woojin. 

 

“I see you’ve already met Mr Kang over here, but I’ll introduce you guys again. This is Mr Kang Younghyun, and he’s going to be in charge of your club from today. I’ll still be observing of course, so just think that you have an extra teacher for club. He’ll oversee your music as well, seeing that he was from a band before this. You guys work well with him, ok?” 

 

Woojin nodded and Mr Lee introduced Woojin, “This is Kim Woojin, the vice president of the music production club. I had actually asked the president Bang Chan to come over but seems that he’s busy. The club has a total of 6 members at the moment so it shouldn’t be too hard to manage them. Try to get along with them.” Mr Kang nodded awkwardly, looking back and forth between Mr Lee and Woojin.

 

“Uhm, Mr Lee-” 

 

“Just call me Jihoon. I’m younger than you you know?” Mr Lee mumbled, not looking up from his papers.

 

“Sorry, Jihoon. I’m pretty new to this teaching thing, are you sure you want me to manage a club already? I may not be qualified to do so and…” He trailed off, hands waving around as he tried to think of what he wanted to say.

 

Mr Lee sighed and swiveled around in his chair to face Mr Kang.

 

“Haven’t I already told you? You’re very qualified in what you do and I want the students to learn from you. Again, the club only has very few members. Think of it as a test of sorts, to ensure you can handle small groups of students before moving on to larger ones.” 

 

Woojin sat in the middle of the conversation awkwardly before Mr Lee took notice of him and dismissed him. The two young man continued talking as Woojin made his leave. Just as the door closed behind him, Woojin caught a few words from the elder.

 

“I can’t face them after everything I did-”

 

Woojin froze and concentrated on the sounds, his powers coming into play as he closed his eyes, willing his hearing to amplify.

 

He must have looked weird, having suddenly stopped and closed his eyes right in front of the door, but he didn't care what others thought at that moment. 

 

Mr Lee also seemed confused at this, questioning, “What do you mean by that?”

 

Mr Kang let out a sigh and mumbled, “It's nothing… Just thinking about something from the past.” 

 

Woojin furrowed his eyebrows and leant closer but quickly backed away as he heard Mr Kang mumble a greeting to Mr Lee and get up to leave. 

 

He speed walked away from the room, letting out a breath when he got a distance away. His mind racing, he walked back to his dorm room. 

 

As soon as he got back to his room, he greeted his roommates and sat down heavily on his bed. He texted Chan about what Mr Lee had said before sighing and laying back against the headboard of the bed. 

 

“You're sighing an awful lot these days.” His roommate teased, his homework sprawled all over the table. 

 

“It's nothing really, don't worry about it.” Woojin smiled tiredly and his roommate shrugged it off, turning back to do his work. 

 

Woojin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. Opening his eyes again, he reached over to his bedside table and pulled out a notebook and pen before getting comfortable in his bed. 

 

Flipping to the next empty page, he started scribbling, pausing once in a while to think before writing again. He sat back at last, satisfied as he looked over the filled pages. He turned back to the earlier pages, all his ideas and theories filling the pages. Most of them were observations and theories regarding what the school might be doing, all written in the form of song lyrics. 

 

“Ooh you’re writing your lyrics again? What’s it about this time?” Yugyeom looked over and smiled. 

 

Woojin shrugged and tilted his head. “Something along the lines of being confused about identity? I don’t really know how these ideas come to me.” 

 

“That’s cool, I just don’t get where you get all that inspiration from. I mean, you’ve almost filled your entire notebook!” Woojin just smiled and looked on fondly as Yugyeom started ranting.

 

“Oh, sorry I started ranting again. I’ll leave you to your song writing, sorry to bother you.” He grinned playfully and gathered all his papers into a pile on the table. Woojin shook his head and turned his attention back to his notebook. 

 

What had Mr Kang meant earlier? Mr Lee hadn’t seemed to know anything so it was safe to assume he had nothing to do with what was going on. Woojin had a very rough theory in his head, but didn’t know what to make of it and how everyone fit into it. It was almost like trying to piece together a complicated storyline for a mystery novel. 

 

Woojin smiled at that thought and decided to let his mind rest, closing the notebook with a sigh and getting up to take a shower. As the warm water ran down his face, he paused and stared at the water cascading down from the shower head. 

 

Now that he thought about it, Mr Kang sounded a lot like one of the voices he heard the other night… That couldn’t be right? Maybe he was just making his rounds like some of the other teachers did. But the teachers didn’t do their rounds at 3am in the morning. 

 

He didn’t want to think that Mr Kang had anything to do with what he had been investigating over the last few months, but there was some evidence against him. Shaking his head, Woojin sighed again, trying to clear his head of such thoughts. 

 

‘Think of something else… Think of that time Jisung caused all the machinery in the club room to overheat- no that’s a bad thing to think about that makes me stressed…’ Woojin let out a small laugh and smiled, thinking about the time he spent with his club members. 

 

School life was hard, but his friends made everything worth it. Other than the times they annoyed him of course. He was glad to be in a club where everyone loved what they did and were genuinely nice and funny. Smiling to himself, he enjoyed the rest of his shower before heading out, refreshed. 

 

His other roommate had come back by then and greeted him cheerfully before disappearing into the bathroom for one of his long baths. Woojin checked his messages and found that Chan had replied. 

 

He smiled at the cheesy message not unusual of Chan, his sincere words making Woojin smile fondly. Holding a pillow close to his chest, he rolled around on his bed, earning him weird looks from Yugyeom.

 

It was moments like this that made him think that life wasn’t as bad as thought it to be.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update!!   
> I had a really bad writers block and have also been pretty busy with school :')  
> Miroh is a big bop and you should go listen to it.   
> As usual, hope you like the chapter, thanks for hits and kudos!!

“Felix! Hurry up!”

 

“I'm coming, I'm coming!” Felix shoved his books and papers into his bag before swinging it over his shoulder and heading toward Hyunjin, who was waiting impatiently at the door.

 

Once Felix caught up with Hyunjin, he took off in the direction of the clubroom, obviously eager to get to club.

 

“What's with the rush?” Felix rushed to match Hyunjin's speed.

 

“Didn't you hear? We're getting a new club teacher!” 

 

“Yeah, and?” Hyunjin rolled his eyes at the freckled boy. 

 

“He apparently was an idol producer before this. Isn't that exciting?”

 

“Why would he quit being an idol to be a teacher though?”

 

The two quickly reached the clubroom and Hyunjin eagerly yanked the door open. Seeing that the new teacher wasn't there yet, he deflated visibly and stalked into the room. Felix followed suit, the door swinging shut behind him.

 

“Hey you two! Any idea when Jisung's going to come?” Chan looked up from his notebook and smiled at his juniors.

 

“I think he still has lessons. He should end soon.” Chan nodded at this and went back to scribbling onto his notebook as the two set down their bags and started stretching.

 

“When's the new teacher going to come?” Hyunjin piped up.

 

“Hmm? I think in about an hour. He's busy right now but he'll clear it up.” Chan murmured as he continued writing.

 

“See, you _didn't_ have to rush me like that.” Felix rolled his eyes at Hyunjin, the latter just pouting. They began their dance practice, having found a choreography both of them had wanted to learn. 

 

“So, we go like ta ta ta ta.” Hyunjin swept his feet out, following the video in front of him. Felix nodded, concentrating on the video. Chan watched silently from his seat, snacking on some chips he had bought earlier. The two started the song again, taking a breath before starting the choreography, their bodies moving with the beat.

 

As the song ended, Felix let out a sigh and went over to stop the song. 

 

“How’s your dance going?” Chan asked through a mouthful of chips. Hyunjin collapsed into one of the chairs and sighed, replying, “It’s a little rough. We still have to sort out one part, but everything is almost done.” 

 

Chan nodded at this and offered the two of them some chips to which they gladly accepted. He convinced them to stop their practice for the time being, saying that they didn’t want to be too sweaty when they met the new teacher. 

 

The three of them sat at the table, eating their chips until the rest of the members showed up one by one, filling the room with noise and laughter. When everyone had arrived, they started discussing what to do for the new song Chan had been working on. Six heads turned when the door suddenly creaked open to reveal a young man. 

 

The young man shuffled into the room unsurely and smiled awkwardly at the members before Chan welcomed him and offered him a seat. Felix stared at the teacher’s face, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. The teacher, who introduced himself as Kang Younhyun, also seemed to recognise Felix, shooting him worried looks from time to time. 

 

Felix tried to ignore the feeling, listening attentively as Mr Kang talked about his experiences. Mr Kang seemed to relax over time, his posture becoming more open as they talked. Felix smiled as he watched them converse, content with just listening to them.

 

Then it hit him.

 

Mr Kang has been the guy he healed that night. How had he not recognised him before now?

 

Felix stared intensely at Mr Kang, realising more and more similarities. It had been quite dark that night, but his voice gave him away almost immediately.

 

Felix didn't really know how to feel, but tried to keep his face straight so that Mr Kang wouldn't realise anything. He was certain that Mr Kang has recognised him, given his worried looks earlier. He couldn't really bring himself to be involved in the conversation, his mind spinning with theories.

 

Could it be that Mr Kang had been telling the truth that night? No, his story hadn't added up and he had long deemed it as a lie.

 

He didn't really want to think of Mr Kang as a bad guy, seeing that he was actually really nice and witty. Maybe he should tell Seungmin and Jeongin about it.

 

“Felix? You good there? You've been zoning out for a while now.” Jisung waved a hand in front of Felix's face and he snapped back to reality.

 

“Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I have a lot of homework and was wondering how to get everything done.” Felix made what he thought was a pretty flimsy excuse, but Jisung shrugged and patted his shoulders.

 

Mr Kang made his leave about an hour later, leaving them to carry on with their club activities.

 

Chan ended the club early, happy that they had already hit the quota of songs for the next few months. This was quite a shock to Felix, who couldn't imagine Chan, being the overachiever that he was, letting himself take a break from composing.

 

Felix took the chance to grab his bag and rush out of the room, barely getting in a goodbye before he sped down the hallways. Multiple teachers stopped him on the way, but as soon he was out of their sight, Felix picked up his speed again.

 

He cursed how big the school was as he sprinted up the stairs and burst into his dorm room. Jeongin and Seungmin looked up in surprise as Felix slid in, the door swinging close behind him. 

 

“Hey Felix. Don't you have club today?” Seungmin stared at him, confused. Felix tried to catch his breath, getting out a few words between pants. 

 

“We… were let… off early…” He managed to get out. 

 

Seungmin continued staring at him curiously while Jeongin deemed whatever it was to be unimportant and continued watching his drama. After Felix got his breathing back to normal, he sat heavily on his bed, his bag slipping off his shoulders onto the floor. 

 

“What is it, Felix? Don't tell me you ran just for the fun of it.” Seungmin prodded. 

 

Felix motioned for the two to gather and Seungmin hopped onto Felix's bed, dragging an unwilling Jeongin with him. 

 

“I swear, it better be good. My drama was just getting good.” Jeongin grumbled as he clambered onto the bed. 

 

“You might not believe me, but that guy who came into our room the other night is now my club teacher.” Felix let out, his eyes moving left and right to observe his roommates reactions.

 

“Seriously? How'd you tell though, wasn't it pretty dark?” Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows. 

 

“There was a light from the bathroom. I also heard his voice, and it fits perfectly.” Felix confirmed. 

 

“So he  _ is  _ a teacher here. Does that mean what he said was true?” Jeongin frowned. 

 

“No, that can't be true. Although he doesn't seem the kind to do anything bad, what he said that night doesn't add up. I'm just trying to think of why he's lying, and what other reasons he had to be in our room that night.” 

 

The room became silent, the three of them deep in thought. Felix broke the silence after a while with a suggestion. 

 

“Don't you guys think it'll be easier to investigate if you two were also in the club? I mean, don't join all at once, but randomly? You guys are also quite musically inclined so it'll make sense, won't it?” 

 

Seungmin and Jeongin shared a look before turning back go Felix. 

 

“I mean, I guess I wouldn't mind, but what do you mean when you say we're musically inclined?” Seungmin questioned. 

 

“What? I've heard you guys singing before and it's pretty good. Do you not realise that?” Felix was obviously confused at this. 

 

“Huh? Whatever, I'm not going to argue with you on this. So when are we going to do this?” Seungmin sighed. Jeongin merely watched as his hyungs started discussing the plan, still trying to process everything. 

 

“So, here's the plan. Seungmin will join the club about a week from now and Jeongin will join maybe a month after that. I'll just tell them that I finally convinced my roommate to join. They'll welcome you guys quite warmly, and your singing abilities should account for why you joined. Thinking about it, Chan did say he needed some new vocals, so it'll be great for the club. Then we can start getting closer to Mr Kang and find out what's happening.” Jeongin nodded thoughtfully, 

 

“I'll go pick up the application form tomorrow, they should take a while to process so I'll probably get in by next week.” Seungmin added. 

 

The three came to the agreement and went back to their respective activities, their minds still lingering on the teacher. 

 

Felix pulled out his tablet and started searching up his new teacher. His name brought up a overwhelming amount of search results, mostly about when he was with his idol band, Day6. He found out that Day6 had been on hiatus for a while now, their latest comeback from almost a year ago. As Felix scrolled deeper into the results, he uncovered articles regarding what had happened to the band. 

 

'Although the company has refused to comment on the subject, some rumor that 3 members, the guitarist Sungjin, the keyboardist Wonpil and the drummer Dowoon, have been reported missing. This is probably the reason for their hiatus, though there are no reports on the whereabouts and actions of the other 2 members, Jae and Young K.’ Felix's eyes widened as he read on, the story unfolding in front of his eyes. 

 

Jae and Young K had reportedly taken a break from idol activities, but their exact movements were unknown. 

 

'Well, now I know where one of the members is…’ Felix thought. He checked out some pictures of the band to confirm that Mr Kang was really the Young K of Day6. Staring at the picture, he at once recognised Mr Kang. Glancing over the other member's faces, he couldn't help but feel a pang of despair. 3 out of the 5 people were missing, the future of their group and the members snuffed out by God knows who. 

 

Felix felt his bed sink a little and turned to see Seungmin sighing as he sat heavily on the bed. He peered over Felix's shoulder and caught sight of the page he was looking at. 

 

“Why are you looking at Day6? They've been on hiatus for a while now…” Seungmin looked crestfallen, as if someone had reminded him that his favourite author had stopped writing the series he loved. 

 

“Do you know them?”

 

“Know them? I was their biggest fan. Every since… that happened, I've only been hoping for them to be found. I wonder what the other are doing…” Seungmin let out a sigh. Felix looked at him for a while, not sure how to break the news. 

 

“I'm actually researching them because out new teacher happens to be the bassist Young K.” Felix said in almost a whisper. 

 

Seungmin's head whipped up and he gaped at Felix in shock. 

 

“N-no way! Are you sure about that?!”

 

Felix nodded, “His name's Kang Younghyun and he looks exactly like Young K in this picture.”

 

“No- doesn't that mean that Kang Younghyun was doing something suspicious in own room that night?? I just- I can't believe that.” Seungmin looked lost, not sure what to think. 

 

“He must have his reasons. That's what we're going to find out anyway. Don't worry, he probably had a good reason, I think…” Felix was also a little torn, having already seen how Mr Kang was. 

 

Seungmin collapsed on the bed, his arm covering his eyes as he sighed again. Felix just stared at him helplessly, not sure how to comfort him. He tried to think of how he would have felt if his favourite idol had been doing something that was potentially dangerous to him. He wouldn't have been able to believe it. Looking on hopelessly at Seungmin, he only hoped to get to the bottom of the mystery. 

  
  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm sorry for the irregular updates, I've been quite busy recently :'))  
> Again, hope you guys like the chapter, and thank you so so much for all the hits and kudos!!

Seungmin wandered into the courtyard, his application form in hand. Seeing as it was still freezing outdoors, Seungmin was the only one in the courtyard, save for the students who were speeding through the courtyard as a shortcut through the school. 

 

Letting out a sigh, he wrapped his coat tighter around himself and sat on one of the benches closer to the warmth of the school. He felt his ears start to freeze but ignored it, opting to focus on the application form in his hands. He wasn’t sure why he had come out into the courtyard in the first place. Maybe it was to numb his feelings or to clear his mind. Who knows.

 

He had gone to take a club application form after Felix had gone through the plan for the 5th time, wanting to be prepared and to get away from having to hear Felix confirm everything every 5 minutes. Taking out a pen from his pocket, he started filling in the blanks, his hands becoming numb from the cold. He sat there for a while more, still thinking about the fact that the person who had been snooping around in his room was his idol. He didn’t know how to feel, was he supposed to feel excited? Scared? As long as he didn’t know Mr Kang’s intentions, he would have mixed feelings about the whole situation. 

 

After his hands had properly frozen, he decided to head back to his dorm room to defrost, feeling that he had cleared his head a little. As the warm heated air of the school hit his frozen ears, he let out a sigh, enjoying the warmth for a while before starting to walk back to his dorm room. As he turned a corner, a young man came barreling toward him, Seungmin merely staring in shock, his brain yet to process what he was seeing. 

 

Before either of them could react, the young man had plowed through Seungmin and they both fell to the floor, the papers the young man had been holding flying everywhere. Seungmin rubbed his head a little as he sat up from the floor, finally having the time to properly observe who it was that had ran over him. As he recognised the face he only saw on television and videos, his eyes widened and he stared in shock at his idol. 

 

“Ow… I’m terribly sorry, I shouldn’t have been running so fast. Are you ok-” Mr Kang reached out a hand to Seungmin to help him up. Seungmin didn’t react for a while, merely staring at him as Mr Kang smiled unsurely at the student. 

 

“Umm…” Mr Kang withdrew his hand a little, a little confused. 

 

Seungmin finally snapped out of his daze and slowly grabbed Mr Kang’s hand, hoisting himself up. 

 

“I-I’m ok. You didn’t really hit me that hard.” Seungmin avoided all eye contact, flustered to even being in such close contact with a member of his favourite band. He started to pick up the papers Mr Kang had dropped, Mr Kang looking at him curiously as he also bent down to pick up his things. 

 

“Why’re you so flustered?” Mr Kang questioned playfully, smiling as Seungmin froze up, his cheeks flushing a deeper red colour. 

 

“I’m not really flustered, it’s just…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing, “It’s just I really liked Day6, and it’s a little weird seeing you here…” 

 

Seungmin handed Mr Kang his stack of papers, which he took with much thanks. 

 

“A fan? Wow, I didn’t think I had those.” Mr Kang joked playfully, flipping through the papers to ensure he had everything with him. 

 

“I- Of course you do. You guys are amazing.” Seungmin smiled at the ground, occasionally looking up to make eye contact. 

 

“Thank you. Oh hey, is this yours?” Mr Kang fished out Seungmin’s club application form and glanced over it before handing it back to him. “The music production club, huh? Looks like I’ll see more of you in the near future.” He grinned at the younger. 

 

Seungmin nodded shyly, holding the paper in his hand tightly.

 

“Well then, I have to head off. See you around!” With a nod, Mr Kang ran off around the corner. 

 

Seungmin let out a sigh, his thoughts running wild. From their small exchange, Seungmin had felt that Mr Kang was as kind and caring as was shown on TV, but there was the pesky thing that he  _ had  _ been in his room that night. He slowly made his way back to his dorm room, still clutching the form tightly. 

 

When he entered the room, the first thing that he saw was a pillow sailing toward his head. Having no time to react, the pillow impacted his face and fell to the ground. The other 2 stared in horror as Seungmin came to his senses, looking at the pillow before his gaze wandered to the two boys gripping pillows. 

 

Ensuring that his form wasn't crumpled, he folded it and slid it into his pocket before bending over and retrieving the pillow. His roommates eyed him warily, fear evident in their eyes. Before either of them could react, Seungmin hurled the pillow to Felix's face, taking him down. Jeongin yelped and hid behind a chair, a pillow held defensively. 

 

Felix laughed loudly from where he fell on the floor, his hands held over his face. Seungmin just sighed and crossed the room to his desk, Jeongin still cowering in his corner. 

 

“I leave for a few minutes and  _ this _ is what I come back to? Seriously, you guys need to grow up.” Seungmin took his seat and pulled out his form. 

 

“Oh come on, we were just having a little fun.” Felix grinned, clambering onto his bed. 

 

Rolling his eyes, Seungmin hummed in response. Jeongin got out from his cover and went over to Felix, though Seungmin had no idea what they were doing. 

 

Hearing mumbles from behind him, he grew suspicious, but kept his focus on his homework, still on guard. 

 

As another pillow flew towards his head, he turned around and caught it, glaring at each boy in turn. The two squealed in delight and scrambled around the room as Seungmin took aim. 

 

'They really are kids…’ Seungmin locked onto his excited target and threw the pillow, quickly bending down to pick up another one. 

 

Head shot. The two boys were taken down in a matter of seconds. 

 

“Hyung-, why are you so good at this?” Jeongin whined as he sat up, pillow in his lap. 

 

Shrugging, Seungmin gave up on his homework and headed over to the other two. 

 

“It's just a skill I have.” Hauling his friends up, the three of them clambered onto Jeongin's bed and started chattering. Watching his two friends bicker and laugh about various topics, Seungmin smiled softly and hugged a pillow to his chest. The three enjoyed each other’s company, talking until Seungmin noticed the time and sent them running through the halls toward the dining hall. The three turned up panting and sweating, but still grinned and laughed as they made their way to their seats. 

 

The week passed with nothing special happening, and soon enough, Seungmin was standing in front of the music room door. 

 

“Come on, let’s go in. The seniors are really nice, don’t worry.” Jisung grinned. Jisung had been extremely excited when he heard that Seungmin was joining them and had dragged him to the club room right after class ended. 

 

Seungmin gulped and opened the door, peering in as he mumbled a greeting. There were already few people in the club room, none of whom he recognised. They all looked up and stared at the newcomer, making him shy away from the door. Jisung nudged Seungmin into the room and he shuffled in, Jisung barging in behind him. 

 

“Hello, I assume you’re the new club member?” One of the people set down his headphones and smiled warmly at Seungmin. 

 

Seungmin nodded shyly, trying to hide behind Jisung. Jisung merely chuckled and moved away, setting down his bag on a table and joining one of the other members seated in front of a laptop. The member introduced himself as Chan before going on to introducing the other members. He walked Seungmin through all the mechanics and programs the club used. 

 

After everything had been thoroughly explained, Chan took Seungmin around the room for a small tour. Seeing all the new music production things made his head spin a little, having had no prior experience other than singing for fun. Seeing all the work that went into the production of just one song made him greatly appreciate and admire all the music producers. 

 

The other members came in soon after, Felix shooting Seungmin a reassuring look. Chan soon gathered the club around to welcome Seungmin and Seungmin could not have been more awkward. He sat in between Jisung and Felix, constantly looking to them for help when the other members asked him questions. He wasn’t the type to open up easily, Jisung having to take the whole term to get on a friendly basis with him.

 

He soon found that the members were really friendly and all around nice people and relaxed, slowly letting his walls down as they chatted through the afternoon. Chan had halted club activities for the moment, citing that a new member was a huge milestone. Which Seungmin could see, with the measly 7 members populating the room. 

 

Mr Kang dropped in to officially welcome the new member for a while before heading off again, also checking up on the club at the same time. Seungmin had studied him in the little time he was there, but had seen nothing but sincerity and care for the members of the club. Why then would he have lied about being in his room that one night? Nothing added up and Seungmin was starting to get a little frustrated. Maybe he had to be more direct with his approach, asking Mr Kang in an innocent manner. 

 

He sat there, his mind wandering while still nodding along to the conversation still going on. He didn’t really know how to go about investigating the ‘mystery’, but decided to discuss it with Felix back at the dorm. As the other members engaged him and snapped him out of his thoughts, he felt a little bad for only thinking about his hidden agenda. 

 

He was also determined to contribute to the club, no matter what was going on with Mr Kang. These people were too nice to take advantage of. As the other members asked him multiple questions about his life and himself, all of which he shyly replied. The members seemed to take an instant liking to him, making him feel more comfortable even though he couldn’t remember all of their names. He would get to that soon enough. 

 

He caught a glimpse of Felix smiling softly at him as he talked excitedly with the others, making him smile to himself. He was starting to see the appeal of friends and companions, allowing him to open up over the next few weeks. 

 

Yeah, he wouldn’t mind getting along with these people.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!  
> I'm terribly sorry for updating so late, I've run out of ideas and could barely get enough for a chapter :')  
> As usual, thank you guys for the hits and kudos!!

“I’m going to go to my clubroom to finish up some music so don’t expect me till about 3am. Don’t miss me too much.” Chan grinned as Mingyu and Dongmin grunted dismissively and gave him an eyeroll respectively. Heaving his laptop and checking that his thumb drive was on him, he left the room, heading toward the club room.

 

He had changed into a black hoodie and pants earlier in the evening, a comfortable outfit to work in, the colour also going to help him later in the night. Humming as he strode to the room, he looked around the school, a few students hanging around the corridors and various facilities of the school.

 

The door creaked open as Chan pushed it with his shoulder, flicking the light switch with his other hand. Chan crossed the room and set his laptop down, the door closing behind him. Settling onto his old chair, Chan switched on his laptop and got to work. Not long after, the door opened again, Woojin and Changbin entering the room.

 

They were both similarly dressed, Changbin fidgeting with his sleeves as he sat in a chair at the table. Woojin seemed a little more calm, getting Chan's attention. Chan hadn't noticed the two coming in and jumped a little at the hand on his shoulder.

 

“Oh hey guys. Sorry, I was just tweaking some parts of the music.” Chan smiled tiredly.

 

“Chan-,” Woojin sighed, “Why do you do this to yourself?”

 

Chan's smile wavered, eyes staring at Woojin's form. “What do you mean?”

 

“Don't act dumb, Chan. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep? Yes, the club is important, but your health is even more so. You need to learn to balance your time. Don't make excuses, Chan. I know school takes up a lot of time, but that doesn't mean you neglect your health to deal with other responsibilities. You can ask others to help you, you know.”

 

Chan sighed, looking up to see Changbin staring at his hands awkwardly.

 

“Woojin, could we- could we talk about this another time? We have more important things to sort out.” Chan motioned to Changbin. Woojin reluctantly agreed and dropped the subject, grabbing a chair for himself.

 

“So… how are we going to do this? Are we even sure that it's going to happen today?” Changbin spoke up.

 

“Yeah it's most probably today. They do it every month, and it's been a month since you had that ‘power surge’. As for how…” Chan trailed off, not really having a cohesive plan.

 

“I was thinking that we listen out for those people who bring them out and follow them to the secret room, wherever that is. I have a few cameras here, so we can secretly take photos of the place and publicize it once we have enough evidence. We can't be too reckless though, who knows what they'll do to us if we get caught. Use your abilities whenever it's needed, but don't overuse them and tire yourself out. We can probably hear the guys coming down since we’re so close to the dorms, so I’ll inform you guys when I hear anything. Chan, you can do most of the tracking, Changbin you can sneak into the room, and I'll keep the lookout. That should make use of our abilities best.” Woojin sighed, “It's not going to be easy, but we have to try for the sake of everyone.”

 

Chan and Changbin stared in surprise at Woojin, to which he snapped, “What is it?”

 

“Oh uh, I didn't expect you to have thought out the whole plan already. I was thinking more of having us discuss it when we met up.” Chan cleared his throat.

 

“What? Don't you think that's a little too unprepared? It's best that we know what we're going to do and get mentally prepared for the operation.”

 

“Operation-” Changbin stifled a laugh.

 

“That's right! Let's name our operation!” Chan grinned, happy to lighten the mood.

 

“How about Operation Mongoose?”

 

“Are you trying to overthrow Castro? What kind of name is that?”

 

“Ooh! What about Operation Alpha?”

 

“That's a little generic don't you think?”

 

“How about Operation To 9? That sounds cool right?”

 

“Hm? Where'd you get that idea from?”

 

“I don't know, just came out. How about it though?”

 

“Eh sounds good.”

 

“Ok then!” Chan grinned, suddenly excited, “OT9 is ready to go!”

 

 

  


\--

 

 

The 3 of them sat in the dark, the room illuminated by the light of Chan's laptop. They started doing their own things, Chan turning back to his music, Woojin writing in his notebook and Changbin just staring into space as they sat in silence. Woojin sat closer to Chan’s laptop to get as much light as he could to see what he was writing. He penned down their plan in his usual cryptic way, so that whoever came across the book would think nothing more of his ‘poetry’ book. Minutes and soon hours passed, the three still not having spoken a word. As Woojin let out a small yawn, his ears picked up a slight sound coming from outside, advancing toward the room. He perked up, motioning for the other two to keep quiet. He held his breath as he willed his hearing to amplify, his other senses following suit. The light coming from Chan’s laptop was soon too bright for Woojin and he looked away, motioning for Chan to turn it off. Chan complied, letting Woojin carry on with his thing.

 

Woojin listened as the people walked as softly as they could, but still not soft enough that Woojin couldn’t hear them. He heard one of the guys mutter gruffly, “Man, what are these students eating? Why are they like getting heavier and heavier?” The other person hushed him and their footsteps seemed to echo down the hallway as they walked further and further away from the room. Once Woojin could hear no other noises, he carefully went to the door and gently pulled it open, peering into the dark hallway. Sensing no one, Woojin motioned for the others to follow him, leading them down the hallway, following the sounds of the men in front. They followed them through the school, down various flights of stairs. For a palpitating moment, Woojin thought they had been caught, one of the men turning just as he was about to descend down some stairs. Holding his breath, Woojin hid behind some columns, checking that the other two were still with him.

 

They were led past the classrooms, toward the administration part of the school grounds. Dread continuously pooled into Woojin’s gut as he followed the men further, not knowing what to expect. The men soon turned into a secret opening in the school library, disappearing as the door closed behind them. Taking deep breaths, Woojin led Chan and Changbin into a more secluded area of the library, careful not to make too much noise. The three caught their breath before discussing what they would do now that they found something.

 

“We don’t know what’s down there. What if it’s just a big open space? We’ll just be exposed immediately.” Chan whispered.

 

“I can try listening in to get an idea what the place is like, but it won't be accurate. We need to be on our guard and use our powers to the best of our abilities. Changbin, if anything happens just brainwash them or something.” Woojin sighed. His head felt like it was splitting open, his senses ok overdrive as he allowed his power to control his mind. Everyone sound was too loud, every light too bright. Even the smell of books we he usually loved was overpowering to him at this stage.

 

Swallowing nervously, Changbin muttered, “It's not that easy, I'm going to have to have you guys help if I can't do it. If worse comes to worse, Chan will just have to resort to using force.”

 

The three agreed on a action plan and crept to the secret door, checking to see that they were alone as Woojin put his ear to the door and concentrated. There were many sounds echoing everywhere, making Woojin deduce that it was either a large open room or some sort of hallway or stairway. Judging by how much echo there was, Woojin concluded that it was the latter, relaying the information to his teammates.

 

Woojin tried the door but it didn't budge. Surprised, Woojin tried to push the door harder, but to no avail. He cursed under his breath and turned to the others.

 

“It's locked? But those people just now…” Chan trailed off, a little disappointed.

 

“Since we can't go in, why not we retreat for now? We could maybe bring Jisung or someone next time.” Changbin whispered hurriedly, his hands gripping onto his shirt.

 

Woojin sighed but agreed and the three hastily made their way out of the library. Just as they were about to go out, Woojin suddenly dragged the other two behind some couches. The other two complied, despite not knowing what was going on.

 

They watched as a man crossed the library to the secret door. When he looked around, the light trickling in from the window illuminated his features, making Woojin's breath catch in his throat. The principal took one sweep of the library to ensure that he was alone before taking out a key and bending down to look at something that opened up.

 

Once he descended down the staircase, the trio took one last look around before getting out from their hiding place and running back to the music room as quietly as they could. Locking the door behind him, Woojin collapsed on a chair, the exhaustion of using his powers and the shock at what he had seen creeping up on him. The three of them sat there for a while, catching their breath.

 

“So… what are we going to do now? We didn't really find anything, other than the location of this secret room.” Chan let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair.

 

“Why not we go back to our dorms first and talk about this another time? We're all tired and need some sleep before we can come to any conclusions.” Changbin seemed a little shaken and the elder two agreed to his suggestion, preparing to head back to their dorms.

 

“If anyone asks, we were staying up late in the music room to finish up some music that's due, alright?” Chan packed up his laptop and the three set off, making sure to lock up behind them. They walked Changbin up to his floor before he bid them good night.

 

Continuing on their way, Chan and Woojin reached their floor and were just about to head back to their rooms when a voice sounded from behind them.

 

“Now, what were you two doing?”

 

The two froze, slowly turning to face the principal, who stood there with a questioning look on his face, arms crossed.

 

“Good morning, Mr Kim. We, we were just finishing up some music for our club. We're terribly sorry, I just had some inspiration and needed some of the things in the music room to record a few things. I just dragged my friend along because he helps think up the lyrics and I had no luck with that today. I promise we won't do this again…” Chan stammered out, obviously terrified.

 

The principal sighed and patted the two on the shoulder.

 

“You know that you have to rest for school in the morning. I'm not saying not to do anything else, but staying up so late isn't good for your body. Learn to use your time more efficiently next time and don't do this again, alright? Now go to sleep, both of you.”

 

The two nodded quickly before heading back to their rooms, shooting each other a look of relief before their doors closed behind them. Heaving a huge sigh, Woojin rest against his door for a while before going to bed. His roommates were long asleep, their soft breaths and the ticking of the clock all he could hear. Turning over and over, Woojin finally fell into a restless sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!  
> Wow it's already been a month since I last updated,,  
> I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, it's mostly been due to exams and lack of ideas :')  
> Again, thank you for all the hits and kudos, and I hope you enjoy the story!

Minho stood at the door for a while, hand poised to knock. Mustering his courage, he hesitantly knocked on the door, a muffled "Come in." emitting from the room. 

 

Seeing who it was, the principal dropped his polite smile, setting his papers aside. Minho closed the door behind him, gulping as he stood a few feet from the table, posture stiff. 

 

"Minho," The way the principal said his name made sent a chill down Minho's spine, his features freezing in fear. 

 

"You think I don't know what you and your friends did last night?" The principal stared right into Minho's eyes. 

 

"Wha-, I don't know what you're talking about, father." Minho could feel his hand trembling a little and grabbed it to stop himself.

 

"I didn't do anything last night."

 

"Oh? Then how can you explain your friends being up and about at 3am last night? Not to mention how my doctor informed me that some people had been spotted around the library." 

 

‘Friends…? What is he talking about. I can’t deny anything, that would just make him think I’m lying and will be even angrier. But who and what did these people do? Friends… some people father thinks to be my friends?’ 

 

“Seems you’re still trying to deny it? Well let’s see how long that’ll last.” The principal smiled coldly as he stretched his hand toward Minho. Minho stared back, eyes wide with fear. He knew what was to come and had come to expect it whenever he had to visit his father, but it never prepared him enough for the pain to come. 

 

His body froze in place, Minho unable to move anything save for his face. It didn’t hurt at first, just felt hopeless as he was immobilized by his father’s grip. Then he started moving. Minho let out a strangled scream that sounded more like a gasp with his throat closing as his arm was twisted to an odd angle. Tears streamed down his face as he looked away from his twisted arm that was being held there by his father. 

 

“Well? Ready to admit it yet?” His father’s calm voice almost didn’t register in Minho’s head as he focused on not blacking out from the pain. His father had started closing up his throat a little as well, making it harder to breath. Minho nodded, a sob rising from his throat as he was let go. His father allowed him a few seconds to recover from going on. 

 

“So tell me. What were you guys planning yesterday?” 

 

Minho still had no idea what he was talking about but decided to just lie about it, that way seemingly better than angering his father even more by saying that he didn’t know anything. He quickly thought up a reasonable explanation with the limited knowledge he had from what his father hinted. 

 

“We… we wanted to find out where the students were being taken to but couldn’t find anything. I’d assumed they gave up and went back to bed, but I think they continued on without me. I don’t know for how long they went on or what they actually found. We actually planned to follow one of the people to the secret room but lost their track on the way. I thought this would have discouraged them, didn’t think that they continued on. That’s all I know, really.” Minho let out a ragged breath as he spewed out the story he had thought of. 

 

His father stared at him coldly, looking Minho straight in the eye as he talked. Minho gulped a little and stared fearfully as his father considered his story. 

 

“I see… Well, that still means that you tried to do exactly what I told you not to do. Now your friends know about the happenings and will try to find out more. You realise what this means right?” Minho kept quiet, wanting to drop his gaze from his father’s but being too fearful to do so. 

 

His father sighed and got up, slowly stalking over to Minho like he was his prey. Minho stood rooted to the ground, eyes watering as his father came over and took his chin in hand. 

 

“Oh Minho… You know I only adopted you because I saw potential in you. Why can’t you be more obedient? Follow my only rules? It seems, you’re not disciplined enough.” 

 

Minho’s air supply was suddenly cut off, the air rushing out of his lungs as he fell to his knees, choking. His eyes teared up as he clawed at his throat, the lack of oxygen slowly burning his throat. His father brought him up with his power, holding him in a standing position. He let go of Minho’s air slightly, allowing some air to pass before moving on to his next punishment. As Minho took in a huge gasp of air, his father took control of his arms and bent them almost till the breaking point. 

 

Tears streamed down Minho’s face as pain shot up his arms, only his father’s powers managing to keep him standing. The pain was soon so unbearable that dark spots started forming in front of Minho’s eyes. His father suddenly released him and he fell to the ground, the pain slowly subsiding and leaving him heaving. He had most likely torn a muscle, a sharp pain shooting up his arm when he tried to move it. He blinked the black spots out of his eyes as he slowly looked up at his father, who had gone back to sit on his chair. 

 

“Now do you feel like obeying my wishes?” 

 

Minho nodded to the best of his ability, the small movement causing much pain. 

 

“Good. Still, you’ve caused way too much trouble already. I can’t let this time slide. From today, you are to join the music production club. I know your friends are in there, but you’ll be kept under close watch by the teacher in charge, so I’ll be able to monitor you. No more free time in the afternoons to go plotting missions in school, and definitely no movement out of your dorm after lights out. I’ll be sending some staff to go guard you at night so no funny business. Got that?”

 

Minho nodded again, his brain still trying to process what his father said, the haze of pain still lingering. 

 

“You may leave.” Minho slowly got up, his limbs protesting in pain. Once he got up, he took a deep breath before lumbering out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, he collapsed onto one of the sofas in the waiting room. Someone was waiting for him in the room and looked at him sympathetically. Minho stared at the young man, not recognising him. 

 

“Who… are you?” Minho managed to get out. 

 

“My name’s Brian Kang, I’m the teacher in charge of the music production club and now, you. Nice to meet you.” He offered a small smile and Minho nodded tiredly. 

 

“Do you  _ have _ to watch me? I promise I won’t cause any trouble.” Minho eyed him suspiciously. 

 

“No can do, Minho. You know first hand how strict your father is.” 

 

Minho cringed at the memory of pain inflicted upon him by his father.

 

“I guess… could you at least take me to the nurse’s office?” Minho sighed as he sunk back into the sofa. 

 

“Of course. I’ll let you rest a little before we head off. Why don’t you take a little nap, I’ll see that no harm comes to you.” Mr Kang smiled again, making Minho snort a little. He was never safe as long as he was in his father’s hands. Still, Minho allowed his body to relax, closing his eyes and welcoming the cool numbness of sleep. 

 

**———**

 

Minho woke up to the smell of antiseptic and a bright light shining down on him. ‘I wonder how many times I’ve been here…’ Minho tried to sit up and did so after a while, his body still numbed by the pain. He had been supplied with his usual painkillers and he took them as soon as he spotted them. Sighing, he leant back against the head of the bed and sat there for a while, just staring into space. 

 

Mr Kang walked into the room and immediately went to his side. 

 

"Are you OK? I know I didn't say much earlier but I was scared that your father might overhear and, you know-" He sighed. 

 

Minho just nodded and managed to get out, "It's ok, I'm used to it."

 

Mr Kang looked at him worriedly, his eyebrows furrowed. "How long has this been going on for? What exactly does he want?"

 

Minho raised an eyebrow, surprised that anyone other his father would dare to ask such a question. "Well, he was much nicer when I was a child but he started hurting me to 'bring out my full potential'. I guess it worked, really, my powers  _ are _ pretty strong. As for what he wants, who knows? Wouldn't you know better?"

 

Minho studied the young man, making him visibly uncomfortable.

 

"Well, not really… I'm quite a new hire so I wouldn't think that he would trust me with his secrets. All I know of is that we're experimenting on how to enhance one's powers through chemicals, which does work but with great pain to the individual."

 

"I can see why he wouldn't trust you with information." Minho smiled a little as Mr Kang realised what he had revealed to the younger boy. 

 

"It's ok, I won't tell anyone. Well, since I'm going to be forced to join your club, why don't you tell me about it?" Minho made himself comfortable, stretching a little in his bed. The painkillers had started to kick in and Minho was feeling much better already. 

 

"Oh ok… Well, as of now, the club has has 5 members, 6 including you. The leader is Bang Chan. The school requires for the club to come up with a few songs each month which they use for commercial purposes. In return, Chan is on a fully paid scholarship and the other members get fund deposited into their bank accounts. I usually let them do what they want and since a few of the newer members specialize in dance, they've set up a small dance space for them. You'll have to sing or rap for the club a few times but mostly you guys can just chill for most of club time." 

 

Minho nodded, silently talking in the situation. "So I'm put into the club so that I'll have less free time to 'plot' against my father?"

 

"And also to stop your friends from finding out more. They're in the club, if you didn't know."

 

"I know I know. What does he expect me to do though… I have no control over them."

 

Mr Kang shrugged, "Well, that's up to you. You're their friend, maybe you could convince them in some way."

 

Minho looked up and stared at the teacher, "You seem awfully calm about this. You don't care what I do?"

 

Shrugging, Mr Kang replied, "I won't outrightly say I support you, but I don't fully agree to your father's says either. I'm doing this for my own reasons." 

 

Mr Kang suddenly changed from his warm and friendly demeanor, his gaze hardening. He was intimidating to say the least. Minho looked back at him, a little surprised by this. As quickly as Mr Kang had stiffened he went back to his usual relaxed posture. Smiling, he went on. 

 

"Well, I'm not about to reveal what exactly for I'm going this, but you can wait and see. Anyway, back to the club, they're all very talented so I would need you to have some skill in singing, rapping or dancing. You do?" Minho nodded. 

 

"Ok then! Just make sure not to hurt them and try not to bring trouble their way. They are a good bunch of kids." Mr Kang smiled sadly at this. 

 

Minho nodded again. 

 

'They won't get hurt if they don't get themselves involved, but look at what they're doing…' 

 

"Good good. I'll finalize your entry to the club then. You can come in from this Friday! See you then." Mr Kang smiled and pat Minho on the shoulder. He left the room, waving as he disappeared from Minho's sight. Sighing, Minho went back to staring into space, contemplating about his future. 

 

Suddenly, someone barged into his space, out of breath. 

 

"Minho! Are you ok?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn it's been too long since I've updated this.  
> Terribly sorry for the wait, I really had no inspiration to write for a while and all my homework really isn't helping :')  
> Hope you enjoy!

"Minho! Are you ok?"

 

Minho blinked a few times, a little shocked. Woojin paused to catch his breath before slumping down in the seat next to the bed. 

 

"I heard from Jungwoo that you didn't go for lessons today so I assumed you were here. Why are you always getting yourself hurt? What is it today?" Woojin started looking Minho up and down, wincing at the bruises covering his neck and arms. 

 

"I'm just clumsy is all. You sure do assume a lot about me." Minho tilted his head. 

 

"I'm right aren't I? Minho, stop lying. I know your injuries aren't from you being clumsy and falling down, you're not that kind of person. What's going on?" Woojin looked Minho straight in the eye, a concerned look on his face. 

 

Frowning, Minho turned away and mumbled an incoherent excuse. 

 

"Minho…" Woojin sighed and grabbed Minho's hand, making him look up at the older boy. 

 

"How long are you going to keep hiding the truth? I don't know what's going on but I can see that it's hurting you. I just want to help, Minho. If you could just tell me…" Minho frowned again and tried to retract his hand. Woojin held on tight, not allowing Minho to avoid him again. 

 

Minho's stoic face betrayed no emotion, having been taught to show no feelings since he was adopted. Inside, though, spun a whirlwind of feelings, making Minho choke up a little. Woojin continued staring at him and he stared back, staring into his senior's earnest brown eyes. 

 

Woojin's eyes widened suddenly and Minho looked back at him, confused. Then he felt the warm liquid trickling down his cheeks and he used his free hand to wipe at his eyes. All the stress he had pent up in him since he was a child all came pouring out in silent tears, Woojin slowly rubbing his back to comfort him. Woojin looked surprised to say the least, never really having seen Minho express his feelings. 

 

“I…” Minho sniffled, a little surprised himself. He wanted to stop his tears but they continued pouring out, Minho eventually giving in and crying his heart out. He heard a small sigh before warmth enveloped him, arms wrapping around his shoulders as Woojin hummed soft tunes into his ear. Minho melted into the older's embrace, his tears staining Woojin's shirt. 

 

Once he calmed himself down, he realised how he had let his guard down and gently pushed Woojin away, quickly wiping away his tears. 

 

"You good, Minho?" Woojin handed a tissue to Minho. 

 

"Yeah. Tell you what, if you really want to know, meet me at the Bloom Café downtown this Saturday afternoon." 

 

Woojin blinked, not sure what to make of Minho's words. Minho just looked at Woojin expectantly, having already calmed down enough to look like he hadn't even been crying. 

 

"Oh yeah sure. Would 2pm be ok?"

 

Minho nodded and looked at the clock, having nothing else to say. The nurse conveniently came in and looked over Minho again. She looked over his wounds and sighed before patting him on the back. 

 

"You can go now. Just make sure to take care of yourself. I hope I don't have to see you again soon." Minho smiled softly and thanked the nurse before slowly getting out of bed. Woojin helped grab Minho's stuff and the two left the nurse's office. 

 

After he had dropped off Minho's stuff, Woojin double checked that he would meet Minho before leaving the room. Since his roommates had club activities, Minho was left in the quiet room to himself, allowing him time to think. 

 

What had he just agreed to? If his father found out, he would be in so much trouble… The café probably isn't safe enough, maybe they should find a more secluded place? But that would make it a little suspicious, wouldn't it? And how much information was safe to give out? Granted, what he was doing was putting himself at danger, but there was a boundary by which he could not cross. 

 

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Maybe a shower would help… 

 

**——**

 

Minho squinted at the sun beating down and pulled his cap further over his eyes. It had been a while since he had left the school building and the brief walks through the school garden barely prepared him for how bright the sun was. Shifting his backpack, he checked the address of the café again before heading in the direction. The café was already pretty crowded, mostly students from the school studying with friends. Minho spotted a corner spot and set down his bag there, looking around to see if Woojin had come yet. Not seeing the familiar face, Minho sighed and went to the counter to order something.

 

The table was soon covered with books and papers, Minho's drained cup of coffee pushed to a side. Minho stared at the question, too preoccupied to focus on his homework. He ran a hand through his hair and sat back in the chair, deciding to take a little break. 

 

Looking out the window, he spotted his senior who noticed him and waved. Minho waved back and watched as Woojin quickened his pace and entered the café. 

 

"Hey Minho! Oh, was I supposed to bring my homework?" Woojin smiled as he took the seat opposite to Minho. 

 

"No I just wanted to get it done. Why don't you go order something first?" Woojin did so, leaving to get his drink. This allowed Minho some time to think about how exactly he had wanted to tell Woojin what was happening. He didn't want to lie to him, he actually really wanted to let go of the burden, but it could be dangerous if anyone overheard their conversation. Maybe he shouldn't be telling Woojin everything in a popular café, that was a mistake on his part. Maybe taking him for a walk would be better?

 

By the time he had made up his mind on what to do, Woojin set two drinks on the table. Minho raised an eyebrow to which Woojin smiled and said, "Noticed you were running low. Thought I could help you get another one."

 

"Thanks." Minho took the cup with a small smile, to which Woojin grinned back. 

 

"So." Woojin plopped into his seat and clasped his hands together, "what is it you want to tell me?"

 

"About that… could I tell it to you later? I think saying it here is a little dangerous." His voice lowered toward the end, making Woojin strain to hear his voice. 

 

"Dangerous?" Woojin mouthed the word, a look of worry and confusion spread across his face. Minho nodded solemnly before taking a sip of his drink and pulling out one of the papers from the mess on the table. 

 

“By the way, could you help me with my homework?” Woojin blinked a few times before smiling and stretching out his hand for the paper. Before long, their meeting had turned into Woojin tutoring Minho on just about every subject. Minho thanked him before finishing up everything he had been taught, leaving Woojin to stone and sip at his drink. Woojin did so, looking out the window as Minho scribbled away in front of him. Spotting one of his classmates, he waved and made small talk with him, Minho looking up for a while out of curiosity. Once Minho had rushed through his homework, he heaved a sigh before packing his things, motioning for Woojin to leave. 

 

The two walked down the street, half full drinks in hand. It was about 4 in the afternoon, Minho having studied for 2 hours while Woojin did essentially nothing. The streets were pretty crowded, many students escaping to the village to relax and have fun. Minho wasn’t really good with people, sticking close to Woojin as he led the way to the more secluded park. 

 

“So. you ready to tell me what’s going on?” Woojin spoke barely over a whisper as they got to the park. 

 

Looking around, Minho sighed and nodded, not being able to put it off any longer. He launched into his story, occasionally checking to see that there was no one in earshot. Woojin was absorbed in the story, interrupting with gasps and repeating Minho’s words questioningly. Minho got a little annoyed after a while and shushed him before continuing on to his position currently. He decided to keep the part about his father and experimenting to himself, not really wanting Woojin to take that lead and end up getting himself hurt. He had already experienced the consequences of Woojin and his friends trying to uncover the truth and he sure did not want to go through that again. 

 

Having told Woojin just about everything, Minho felt a little lighter, like a burden had just been lifted from his shoulders. He let out a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding and leaned back on the bench. 

 

“I… I had no idea…” 

 

“Well I never told anyone, nothing to be sorry for.” Minho replied nonchalantly, to which Woojin shot him a glare. 

 

“You never told  _ anyone _ about this? This is abuse.” 

 

“Who am I supposed to tell? The police? You really think they will believe some kid over the principal of Dongryeok and one of the most influential people around? I think not. Besides, if I ever get caught telling anyone about anything, I’ll just get punished again. It’s an endless cycle.” Minho let out a sigh. 

 

“Even still…” The older frowned, clearly concerned for his junior. 

 

“Anyway, that’s all I have to tell you. Thanks for listening, hyung. I feel much better now that someone else knows.” Minho offered a small smile, to which Woojin broke out into a huge smile, reaching up to ruffle the younger’s hair. Minho stiffened at this before forcing himself to relax, allowing Woojin to pat his head. 

 

Woojin smiled affectionately at Minho, glad that the younger was starting to open up even if just a little. 

 

“Well then, should we get going? Don’t forget to throw away your trash.”

 

“Yes boss…” Minho grinned, gathering his things before following Woojin back up the path. As he approached the dustbin, he noticed someone coming toward him and looked up on reflex. He froze for just a split second before continuing on his way, not wanting to act suspicious.

 

"Oh hey Woojin, Minho! What are you guys doing here?" Mr Kang shot them a smile, the warmth not really reaching his eyes.

 

"Oh, hi Mr Kang! I was just tutoring Minho and we decided to take a walk around." Woojin answered smoothly, looking at Minho for comfimance. Minho just nodded, staring at Me Kang. The teacher was staring back at him with a questioning look crossed with one of worry.

 

"That's nice, never thought Minho would be the type to need tutoring though. Great to know you two are getting along well." Mr Kang shot a genuine smile before ruffling both the boys hair and getting on his way.

 

Minho watched Mr Kang's retreating figure out the corner of his eye, not knowing whether he was safe. Mr Kang definitely suspected something, but would he tell his father about it? 

 

"What's the matter, Minho?" Woojin tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

 

"Hm? Oh nothing much, just thinking that Mr Kang must have a lot of free time to be able to wander around like this." Right. Woojin has no reason to suspect Mr Kang of anything.

 

Minho composed himself a little as the two walked in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the scenery. Woojin stopped by a shop to grab some ice cream and they continued their journey, this time Woojin engaging Minho in conversation.

 

 Minho was quiet most of the journey, which wasn't unlike him, so Woojin didn't think anything wrong. Once they arrived back at school, Woojin parted ways with Minho, saying he had to meet up with some friends in the library.

 

As he neared his dorm room, he silently prayed that his roommates hadn't brought their friends in so he could think in silence. Of course, he had no such luck, Jungwoo having invited the 4 rowdiest friends from his group. 

 

"Oh, hey Minho! Hope you don't mind the company." Jungwoo gave him such a sweet smile that he just signed and accepted the noise.

 

A chorus of "Hi Minho hyung"s followed him into the room as his juniors grinned at him. He nodded back and jumped onto his bed before pulling out his tablet and distracting himself.  

 

The 4 seemed to have an endless supply of energy, going from one noisy activity to the next while Jungwoo just smiled fondly at them. When Minho stopped what he was doing to hear what they were saying, all he heard was Renjun roasting the others. He stifled his laugh and watched as the boys fooled around, pushing each other and laughing.

 

It must be nice to have such good friends… Maybe Minho would still be like that if he hadn't messed up that time. Still, he was glad that he still maintained his good relation with his roommates. And he was getting closer to Woojin, whether that be a good or bad thing. He had to be careful in making friends, not wanting to get anyone hurt. Getting hurt himself was one matter, but he sure did not want anyone suffering because of him. Hopefully that wouldn't happen… 

 


End file.
